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Through 300 Miles of the Wildest, Grandest and Most 

PICTURESQUE SCENERY 

East of the Rocky Mountains, 

From Breakfast, 8:00 A. M., at Kajiaivha Falls. Until 
Su,pper, P. M., at Chariot! esvillc. 



UNEQUALED IN BEAUTY AND INTEREST TOANY DAY'S RIDE IN AMERICA. 

RiuErs, Eenynns anri'Mnuntains, 

Observation Cars attached at Kanawha Falls, and running through the Can- 
yons from April 1st to December 1st, passing ^Vhite Sulphur and the 
other famous Springs — resorts of the Alieghenies in Virginia. 

Be^ts ^umniBf Climate in i^IIlerica. 



-FROM- WASHINGTON, 

I I 1 1 

RICHMOND AND 

_^Q _ OLD POINT COMFORT 

Pullman Cars and Solid Trains From 

LOI'ISVILLE to WASHINGTON. IIICHJIDNI) and 01,1) POINT COJIFOHT. 

Best Line to all J irgiiiia ajid J^orth Carolina Points. 




FOR FULL INFORMATION ADDRESS 
D. E. HOLMES, Passenger and Ticket Agent, 

S. W. Cor. Fifth and Walnut Sts., CINCINNATI, O. 

H. W. FULLER, General Passenger Agent, 

25.5 Fourth Avenue, LOUISVILLE, KY. 



War Anecdotes 



-AND- 



Incidents of Army Life 



REMINISCENCES FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE CONFLICT 
BETWEEN THE NORTH AND SOUTHS 



^.£S^i 



, -^VOFCOWg/ 



SEP 19 1888 :)/ 



CINCINNATI : 

ALBERT LAWSON. 
1888. 

CO 



Copyright, 1888, bj' Albekt Lawson. 






V 



PRESS OF 

E. H. BEASLEY & CO., 

CINCINNATI, OHIO. 



War Anecdotes, 



THE LAST MAN TO SURRENDER. 
"The last man and the last ditch" were common figures of speech 
during the war, and strangely enough, they were definitely located long 
after the war itself had closed. On the morning of the Fourth of July, 
1866, fifteen months after Lee's surrender, the Secretary of War, who 
had planned a fishing excursion to the Falls of the Potomac, received 
a telegram from the provost marshal at Richmond, Va., stating that 
a squad of Confederate soldiers were at his ofiSce ready to deliver up 
their arms and be amnestied. Knowing that joking of that descrip- 
tion would subject the perpetrator to court-martial, he hurriedly 
went to the White House to consult President Johnson, which resulted 
in a telegram to the Provost Marshal: "Who are they and where 
did they come from?" The answer was to the point: "Sergeant 
Tewksbury and guard from Dismal Swamp. Did not know the war 
was over." After a good deal of laughter the provost marshal was 
ordered to receive their capitulation, which was conducted in due 
form. Tewksbury, an old Virginian, ordered his squad, a couple of 
Georgians, to give up their guns and sign the papers, reserving him- 
self as the last man to surrender of all the Confederate forces. 
The old Sergeant's description of the way he ascertained the war 
was over was amusing. He and his companions had been posted on 



2 WAB ANECDOTES 

the edge of the swamp to watch movements of Union troops from 
Norfolk, with orders to remain until relieved. He never was relieved 
and had subsisted on game and fish for three years. At last he met 
an old negro who told him that the war had been over about a year, 
which "tickled him better than if he had been kicked by a mule," as 
he facetiously expressed it. 



THE FIRST UNION VOLUNTEER. 

Colonel T. J. Kennedy, of Auburn, N. Y., claims to have been the 
first volunteer for the Union Army. So early as November, 1860, 
seeing that an armed struggle between the North and South was in- 
evitable, he urged the immediate enlistment of men, to be drilled in 
anticipation of a call for troops. In January, 1861, he applied to 
Governor Morgan for authority to enlist a company, and his applica- 
tion was placed on file January 17. He did not wait to receive the 
authority, but proceeded to enlist men. When Fort Sumter was fired 
on, April 12, 1861, he had 175 men under drill. He offered the 
sei'vices of himself and men to the State the same day, and the same 
day his enlistment roll, his name being the first one upon it, was re- 
ceived and entered in the Adjutant General's office. 

This patriotic distinction, however, is disputed by Captain W. W. 
'Bush, of Lockport, N. Y. At noon, on the 15th of April, the news 
that the President had issued the call for troops was received. Bush 
ran at once to his place of business, drew up an enlistment roll and 
signed it. He then proceeded to enlist others. He raised a company, 
was made Captain, and went to the front with the first troops. 



THE FIRST THREE YEARS REGIMENT. 

On April 29, 1861, the Lieutenant Colonel and Major of what 
became the famous Second Massachusetts Regiment, induced the 
Seci'etary of War to sign a paj^er, agreeing to receive into the service 
of the United States for three years a regiment which Colonel George 
H. Gordon was then raising. This was five days before President 
Lincoln issued his first call for three years troops, and thus Colonel 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 



Gordon's was the first three years regiment raised, though it was not 
numbered "1," the First three mouths Massachusetts regiment re- 
enlisting for three years and thus retaining that number. 



THE NUMBER OF BATTLES. 
During the war there were 2,261 encounters of all kinds between 
the opposing forces, distributed as follows : In 1861 there were 156. 
The number rose to 564 in 1862, increased to 627 in 1863, reached 
the maximum of 779 in 1864, and fell to 135 in 1865. In each of 149 
of these encounters the Union loss in killed, wounded and missing 
exceeded 500 men. The loss of the Confederate side cannot as easily 
be ascertained. 



THE LARGEST REGIMENTAL LOSS. 
The Twenty-sixth North Carolina Regiment, of Pettigrew's Brigade, 
Heth's Division, Confederate Army, went into the fight at Gettysburg 
with over 800 men. It lost 86 killed and 502 wounded — many of 
them mortally hurt ; total, 588, not including the missing, of whom 
there were about 120. In one company, 84 strong, every man and 
officer was hit ; and the orderly sergeant who made out the list did it 
with a bullet through each leg. This was by far the largest regimental 
loss on either side during the war. 



WHEN DID THE WAR END, 

It is easy enough to fix a date for the beginning of the war, if we 
are to count from the opening of actual hostilities. But it is hard to 
say with exactness just when the war ended. Richmond, the Confed- 
erate Capital, was captured and occupied by the Union forces on the 
morning of April 3, 1865, its garrison having abandoned it during the 
night preceding. Hostilities, however, went on with vigor in Virginia 
as well as elsewhere until April 9, when the army of Northern Vir- 
ginia surrendered at Appomattox. But that date does not mark the 
end of the war. The week following Avas a busy and sanguinary one 
in many quarters. On that same 9th of April Cauby, whose army, 



4 WAR ANECDOTES 

with the aid of the fleet, had been investing the defenses of Mobile, 
captured Spanish Fort and its dependencies, with many guns and 
several hundred prisoners. Before night Fort Blakely was carried by 
assault, with twenty guns and 2,400 prisoners. A few days later 
Mobile was evacuated, and on the 14th Granger's forces occupied the 

city. 

Stoneman was meanwhile carrying on vigorous operations in a 
portion of North Carolina. On the 12th of April, three days after 
Lee's surrender, he attacked the enemy's lines around Salisbury, 
capturing fourteen pieces of artillery and more than 1,100 prisoners, 
together with great stores of ammunition, army blankets, clothing, 
bacon, salt, rice, wheat and cotton. Thence he moved to Slatersville, 
destroying railroad track and bridges. 

Wilson, with a cavalry force of great magnitude, was continuing 
during this same period his memorable operations in Alabama and 
Georgia. On the 16th of April, in the last combat of the war east 
of the Mississippi, he carried Columbus and West Point; and on the 
21st of April, Macon surrendered with three-score field pieces and 
10,000 or 12,000 Georgia militia. 

Sherman's march to Raleigh was begun as late as April 1 0, and on 
the evening of the 12th Kilpatrick was fighting Wade Hampton's 
rear guard, while Raleigh was reached and entered on the 13th. Ne- 
gotiations for Johnson's surrender were next begun, and the first 
memorandum for that purpose, made near Durham Station, was 
dated April 18. This, however, was rejected by President Lincoln, 
and the final agreement was signed on the 26th. So late as April 23, 
the Sixth Corps was put on the march for Danville, in order to cut 
ofi" the possibility of Johnson's escape, and General Sheridan's cavalry 
was engaged in the same occupation. Between the 19th and 22d 
there were military expeditions in Tennessee. 

The troops of General Jeff Thompson did not surrender until May 
11, and the actual assembling and paroling of his men took place 
May 25, at Wittsburg, on the St. Francis River, and June 5, at 
Jacksonport, on the White. The entire force paraded numbered 7,454 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 5 

officers and men. The surrender of Lieutenant General Richard 
Taylor's much larger army was made at Citronville, in Alabama, on 
the 4th day of May. The surrender of Commodore Farrand's squadron 
of twelve Confederate vessels in the Tombigbee River, with their 
officers and men, was agreed upon at the same time, and took place on 
May 9. The following day General McCook, of Wilson's Corps, 
received at Tallahassee the surrender of Jones' Florida forces, 8,000 
strong. 

Meanwhile there had been threats of very serious resistance by some 
of the trans-Mississippi forces, which expected to be joined by Jefferson 
Davis, then a fugitive in Georgia. The unremitting search for Davis 
kept Wilson's forces busy throughout the earlier part of May and until 
Davis' capture at Irwinsville on the 10th. Long before this event General 
Kirby Smith, at Shreveport, in Louisiana, had issued an order to his 
army announcing Lee's surrender and his own purpose to carry on 
the war beyond the Mississippi. On the 24th of April, General 
Magruder, at Houston, addressed a great war meeting to the same 
effect. On the 27th, Hardeman's Brigade, at Independence, pledged 
themselves to continue the war to the bitter end. On the 2d of May, 
Parsons' Brigade adopted similar resolutions in Robertson County, 
Texas. On the 8th of May, the citizens of Fort Bend County resolved 
that "in no event will we ever consent to reconstruction," and proposed 
that 30,000 recruits should be added to the forces of Smith and 
Magruder. These are examples, to which others might be added, of the 
hostile feeling prevailing at that time in Arkansas and Texas. 

On the 13th of May, a body of Union troops under Colonel Barrett 
had a sharp skirmish at Palmetto Ranch, about fifteen miles above 
Brazos, in Texas. The Confederates, under command of General 
Slaughter, aided by Colonel Ford's cavalry and three fieldpieces, 
drove back Barrett's command toward Brazos, with a reported Union 
loss of about seventy or eighty men killed, wounded and missing. 
Thus the last combat of the war, somewhat curiously, goes into the 
record as a Confederate success. However, in spite of all the threats 
and pledges to carry on the struggle in Texas, wiser counsels prevailed, 



6 WAR ANECDOTES 

and on the 26th of May, Kirby Smith, through his chief of staff. 
Lieutenant General Buckner, surrendered his entire army to Canby, 

These historical reminiscences show the difficulty of fixing upon any 
specific day as marking the end of the war. The difficulty is increased 
by the gradual process of reduction in the Union armies, a process 
extending far beyond the times when the last Confederate troops 
were assembled for parole. But a greater constructive extension of the 
war period was furnished by the various agreements and statutes of 
tlie Government, each depending upon such definite phrases as "the 
duration of hostilities." With the downfall of the Confederate Gov- 
ernment the Southern States acted independently of each other, and a 
process of military occupation and political reconstruction was under- 
taken in each of them. In a war between two nations a treaty of 
peace often furnishes the historical date for the conclusion of hostilities ; 
but there was no treaty-making power at the South. 

By degrees Congressional legislation began to refer to the Avar as a 
thing of the past, in such phrases as "the late insurrection;" yet more 
than a year passed after the last Confederate troops disbanded before 
the formal official announcement that this insurrection was over. At 
length such a proclamation was made by President Johnson, and 
thereafter the judicial tribunals fixed upon that announcement as the 
true legal date of the end of the war. Thus the Adjutant General's 
office, in a letter to General Carleton of February 2-4, 1883, uses this 
expression: "The Supreme Court of the United States has decided 
that the war of the rebellion closed on August 20, 1866, the date on 
which the President issued his proclamation declaring the insurrection 
at an end." 



A HEROISM BORN OF WHISKY. 

During a critical moment of the battle of Chickamauga, when a 
portion of the Union line was being mowed down in swaths, and 
regiments bleeding, torn and panic stricken, were rushing in great 
disorder to the rear, a Colonel of a Western regiment, so full of "com- 
missary" that he had thrown an arm around a small sapling to steady 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 7 

himself, snatched the flag from his color sergeant, who was hurrying 
back, and, as he held it up, exclaimed in thick, yet heroic, tones: 
"Boys, you may go to the rear if you will, but the old flag can't go 
with "you!" There he stood upon the storm-swept field, clutching 
the flag and the tree. The apparently heroic act thrilled the boys, 
inspired them with new courage, stayed the tide that was sweeping 
backward, the line was reformed, the enemy repulsed, and that 
portion of the field saved from disaster and dishonor. For this 
gallantry, the Colonel was made a Brigadier and soon after a Major 
General. He afterward became prominent as a citizen. Probably 
as his eyes rested upon "the sword that hung rusting upon the wall," 
and in memory he fought anew the old campaigns, thus recalling 
the thrilling act that made him famous, the veteran fervently ex- 
claimed, "God bless the old canteen !" 



TRE TELEGRAM OF APPOMATTOX. 

R. C. Laverty, who was the telegraph operator at General Grant's 
headquarters, tells the following story of the way in which he sent the 
message announcing Lee's surrender : 

"I had been with General Grant continually from the time we left 
the front (Petersburg) until the night of that memorable day, April 
9, 1865. About 11 o'clock on the morning of the 9th of April, 
General Grant sent me, with a number of telegrams addressed to 
President Lincoln and the War Department, to find our wire, which 
the telegraph corps, under Chief of Construction Doran, was following 
closely by way of the South Side Railroad. As I had considerable 
trouble to find our people and a considerable distance to ride, I did 
not return until about 3 p. m. The surrender had then been arranged 
and the General and his stafl!' had returned to headquarters from the 
house of Mr. McLean, where the documents were signed. The tele- 
grams announcing and officially reporting this event were addressed 
separately to President Lincoln (who was always spoken of at head, 
quarters as General Lincoln) and to Secretary Stanton. They were 
all written either by General Rawlins or Colonel Ely S. Parker, 'the 



8 WAR ANECDOTES 

Indian,' who was Grant's military secretary. They were handed to me 
by Colonel Parker. I had mounted my horse, when I was called 
back, and, dismounting, went into the tent. General Grant said to me 
that he was very anxious to receive replies to the dispatches sent in the 
morning, and urged me to make haste with the present ones. I rode 
to Appomattox Station, about one mile distant, as fast as my horse 
would carry me, and there found our line just completed to that 
point. I entered a freight car which was on the side track loaded with 
sacks, and made room for my instrument. I had but little difficulty in 
getting to Washington, though by a somewhat circuitous route. 
Having done so, I said; 'Here's the surrender,' and immediately trans- 
mitted the following : 

Headquarters, Appomattox C. H., Va., \ 
April 9, 1865. / 

Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War, Washington : 

General Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia this afternoon on 

terms proposed by myself. The accompaying additional correspondence will 

show the conditions fully. U. S. Grant, Lieutenant Genera!. 

* 'I sent this and the accompanying message at 3:45 p. m. , and at 4: 15 
p. m. delivered to General Grant the congratulatory answers from 
President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton. Strangely, the line soon 
after failed to work, and no business was done from that point for 
several days afterward. General Grant was greatly pleased with the 
speedy manner in which the business had been transacted, as it enabled 
him to retrace his movements, which he did, going to Burkesville 
Junction the next morning and thence to City Point and Washington. 

"The original telegrams announcing the surrender I returned to 
General Grant, along with the replies from President Lincoln and the 
Secretary of War." 



THE APPOMATTOX FLAGS OF TRUCE. 

General E. W. Whittaker, who was Inspector General on General 

Custer's staff, thus describes the first flag of truce sent from Lee's 

Army to the Union lines in front of Longstreet. It was an old towel, 

belonging to Colonel R. M. Sims, of Longstreet's staff, for which that 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 9 

officer had paid $40 in Confederate currency. Shortly after the sur- 
render it was given by General Custer to his wife, in whose possession 
it still remains : 

"On the morning of the 9th Sheridan moved his whole cavalry 
command out over the fields south of the Court-house, General Custer's 
division in advance, and received the fire of the enemy's artillery. 
We had reached a favorable point for a charge at what appeared to be 
the center of the Confederate line, when an officer galloped out to us, 
with the truce in his hand, and said to General Custer : 'General Lee 
requests a suspension of hostilities.' Custer instantly halted, and, 
turning to me, by his side, said ; 'Go with this officer and say for me 
to General Lee that I cannot stop this charge unless he announces an 
unconditional surrender, as 1 am not in sole command on this field.' 

"The officer gave his name as Major Sims, of Longstreet's staff, 
and hurriedly piloted me through the Confederate lines, but a few rods 
in our front, where artillerymen stood in position by their shotted guns 
and piles of ammunition. On the way to Lee we were met by General 
Gordon, with a group of many other prominent officers, who stated 
that the request for a suspension of hostilities was, in fact, uncondi- 
tional surrender, that Lee had just rode away to the rear to find 
Grant, and that the infantry line of battle closing in on them from 
the west must be halted and further bloodshed stopped. I consented 
to take the same tiuce and stop the infantry if Major Sims would 
accompany me. He did so, and we both, doubtless a little warmed 
up and out of breath, explained to Generals Ord and Chamberlain the 
situation, when their line halted and cheer after cheer rolled from 
right to left. At this point Sims and myself parted, he to return to 
General Gordon, a short distance, and in full view over the open field, 
and I to return to General Custer, where the ground was not open 
and the rattle of the carbine was still heard, and, of course, the 
truce in hand was still needed. On reaching General Custer I 
learned that a Confederate cavalry commander had been trying 
to charge through our lines on the right and had not succeeded. 
I had no further use for the truce, and handed it to General Cus- 



10 WAR ANECDOTES 

ter, who, more than any other person, was entitled to possession of 
the relic." 



SE MET DEATH AT LAST. 
In the Sixty-first Pennsylvania Regiment was a man who could not 
go into a fight. He was a good fellow and everybody liked him, and 
he was really more pitied than condemned for his cowardly infirmity. 
Finding he was of no service in the company, and fearing that his 
example might be demoralizing, he was detailed as a teamster, and he 
served with the wagon trains throughout the whole war and was never 
in a fight. After hostilities had ceased and there was not an armed 
volunteer in the field, this man, who was still on detached service in 
the South, was one day engaged in removing a lot of muskets from a 
wagon preparatory to their being sent North. A comrade who was 
assisting cautioned him to be careful, as some of the guns might 
be loaded. He replied that there was no danger, as they were old and • 
rusty and had long been out of use, but scarcely had these words 
escaped his lips when one of the guns was discharged and he was 
instantly killed. 



A SPECIAL PROVIDENCE. 
Rev. Dr. Dabney was "Stonewall" Jaokson's chief of staff. 
During one of the battles in which Jackson was engaged the staff was 
under a very heavy fire. To protect them Jackson ordered them to 
dismount and shelter themselves. Dr. Dabney found a place behind 
a large and thick oak gate-post, where he sat bolt upright, with his " 
back against it. Just then there came up Major Hugh Nelson 
of Ewell's staff, who did not fully agree with Dr. Dabney's theological 
doctrines, though himself a devout churchman. Taking in the 
situation at a glance Nelson rode up, and saluting said: "Dr. Dabney, 
every shot, and shell, and bullet is directed by the God of battles, 
and you must pardon me for expressing my surprise that you should 
want to put a gate-post between you and a Special Providence !" The 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE H 

good doctor at once retorted: "No! Major, you misunderstand the 
doctrine I teach. And the truth is, I regard this gate-post as a 
Special Providence, under present circumstances." 



HOW IT FEELS TO BE KILLED. 

A Union veteran thus described the sensations following what he 
supposed was a fatal wound : 

"At the battle of Shiloh I was shot between the eyes. I was left 
on the field for dead, published as killed, and had the rare pleasure of 
reading my obituary in a local newspaper several months afterward. 
I shall therefore try to tell you how it looked to one who has been to 
the margin of the dark river, though it seems I didn't quite cross over, 
after all. 

' 'When the shot struck me it seemed as if I had been hit with a 
crowbar coming endwise at great speed. A thought of that kind 
passed through my mind at that time. I felt the missile tear through 
my head as plainly as I ever felt anything, though it did not do so, 
and I felt the air rush through after it and chill my brain. I was 
conscious for what seemed to have been two or three minutes, from the 
amount of thinking I did, but it might not have been more than as 
many seconds, for I have since learned that the mind can sometimes 
work with inconceivable rapidity. 

"The first feeling that came over me was one of most terrible dis- 
appointment. It was absolutely crushing. It was not a feeling of re- 
gret that I was cut down at the daAvn of manhood — I never thought 
of that — but it was a feeling of cruel disappointment that I had not 
been spared to get to the battery upon which we were charging at the 
time I was hit. A moment before my blood had been seething with 
that indescribable frenzy of excitement which can only be experienced 
when the veins are bursting with the thrill that goes through them 
when a charge into the very jaws of death is being made. I was too 
much maddened by the intoxication of battle to think of personal 
danger. Not a thought of that kind crossed my mind. In the earlier 
stages of the carnage the sight of a dead man had sickened me, and I 



12 WAR ANECDOTES 

had felt my cheek blanching and my knees trembling when the blood 
of a comrade reddened the earth, but not now. All feeling of 
timidity had been swept away by the magnetism of that sublime 
moment when victory Avas in sight. I felt tigerish and thirsted for 
vengeance. I wanted to get to that battery, and I wanted to get 
there bad. I was straining every nerve to that end, and to be cut 
down at the moment when victory was almost within grasp, with 
shouts of defiant triumph bursting from my powder-stained lips, was 
simply awful. Nothing in language can paint the wretched feeling 
of disappointment that overwhelmed me at that cruel moment. Had 
I been spared to reach the guns, I believe I could have died Avithout a 
regret, but to be snufied out before the job was finished was a calamity 
too great to find expression in words. 

"Immediately after being hit I felt myself sinking into a dazed con- 
dition, and then came a season of debate with myself as to whether I 
was alive or dead. I had a hole straight through my head big enough 
to admit a good-sized cane, I thought ; therefore I must be dead. ^ 
man in my fix would have been killed instantly, hence I Avas mos^ 
certainly dead so far as the body was concerned. I could not be 
alive. It was contrary to all precedent. But some other faculty of 
mind Avould combat this argument and try to convince me that I was 
still alive. 'I can move my hand or my foot,' I Avould reason, 'and 
a corpse couldn't do that; so I'm aliA'e, after all.' 'But I don't move 
my hand or foot,' the other faculty would insinuate. 'I simply think 
I do so; so I must be dead. My brains are scattered OA-er the ground. 
There's no doubt about that, for I felt them go, and that means instant 
death ; so, of course, I'm actually dead!' And so it went until Host all 
consciousness; one part of the brain trying to convince me that I 
was dead, and another trying as persistently to persuade me that I was 
aliAX, all in a dreamy, semi-conscious sort of Avay, gradually groAving 
fainter and fainter, somewhat like the sensation of going to sleep. 

"There was no feeling of pain; no thought of death, except as a 
stubborn fact that could not be aA'oided. Not a thought of my past 
life ; no thought of friends or home. Not the slightest regret at my 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 13 

untimely taking off, aside from the temporary feeling of disappointment 
above referred to. Not a single pang that all my hopes and ambitions 
had come to a standstill. My future status was not once considered. 
There was no hope of heaven ; no fear of hell. I heard no celestial 
music. I was not uplifted by angel hands and borne gently away. 
No seraphic beings robed in light flitted before me with rustling 
wings. No dark forms glowered upon me and barred the way to the 
:ealms of joy. I was simply drifting away from consciousness in a 
manner not at all uncomfortable ; my last recollection being the mental 
debate as to whether I was alive or dead. 

"Who can tell but that death on the battlefield may not have been 
in many cases an exact repetition of my own feelings at the time when 
I believed my last moment had come ? Had I really died before re- 
covering consciousness such would indeed have been my end. 

"I remained in a senseless condition four days, and when I came to 
the noise of battle was still ringing in my ears. The debate was 
resumed, but instantly dropped by the introduction of convincing 
testimony that I was still among the living. My head was greatly * 
swollen and seemed bursting with pain. I was entirely blind, my eyes 
being completely closed by the swollen condition of my head and the 
matter from the wound, which had caked over them. The blood had 
matted all over my face in a thick coat. I was in the hospital, and 
somebody was at work trying to bring my features once more into 
daylight, and he was doing it in a manner that was torture. This had 
probably brought me back to consciousness." 



THE PROPER VIEW OF IT. 
The Confederate General Gordon was a very pious man and never went 
into battle without asking the divine assistance and favor. On the eve 
of the Battle of the Wilderness he with others, held a little prayer- 
meeting, at which privates and Generals mingled on a level. Men 
prayed at such times, when they knew the next few hours would find 
more or less of them dead or dying, without regard to the insignia 
of rank. Presently one of the common soldiers was called on to 



14 WAB ANECDOTES 

"lead in prayer." His piety was beyond question, but his education 
was not up to all requirements. On this oceasion he began: "Oh, 
Lord; thou knowest we are about to engage in a terrible conflict, 
if you take a proper view of the subject !" At this point his hearers 
lost their gravity, the prayer-meeting was brought to a sudden and 
inglorious close, and the little audience fought the battle of the 
Wilderness with their eternal spirits giggling all through. 



WHY THE PICKETS CEASED FIRING. 

At Sharpsburg the pickets were constantly firing at each other, until 
a Confederate from Jackson's corps shouted to a Union soldier and 
asked him not to shoot, to which the good-natured foeman assented. 
But the others kept on shooting until presently ' 'Johnny" cried out to his 
quondam friend on the other side : "Say, Yank, tell the man on your 
left not to shoot. I'd just as lief be shot by you as by hhnV So the 
word passed from man to man, till not a gun was fired along the picket 
line, the result of the quaint request of the first man. 



A READY RETORT 

General was a gallant soldier during the war and 

a distinguished politician after it was over. At the battle of .Win- 
chester, in 1863, he was in command of a brigade, and was very 
deliberately forming his line of battle, so slowly that the division 
commander grew impatient and sent an aid, who came galloping up to 

the old hero to say: "General, General wants to know 

if you are proposing to have dress-parade down here?" The instant 
retort was : "Go back and tell him 'Yes' ; we are going to dress on the 
enemy!" "Dress on the enemy," at once became a favorite phrase 
among the men of his brigade. 



THE STORY OF BARBARA FRITCHIE. 

Although Whittier's verse has immortalized the name of Barbara 
Fritchie, and made memorable the sleepy old town of Frederick where 
she lived, the historian will have very hard work to settle the truth of the 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE I5 

incident on which the poem is said to have been founded. Barbara 
Fritchie did live there, and was living when "Stonewall" Jackson 
marched his dusty but exultant troops through its streets. But the 
best authorities say that he did not pass by the old dame's door, but 
went by a very different route to the house of friends on a distant 
street. It is said by many residents of the place that a Mrs. Quantrell 
waved defiantly a small hand flag over the chieftain's head, though 
the defiance does not seem to have attracted any attention whatever at 
the time. It is also said that Mrs, Quantrell was afterwards given a 
place in one of the departments at Washington because of that open 
expression of loyalty at such a time. Others, again, quite as credit- 
able as the first, vehemently declare that Barbara Fritchie did wave a 
Union flag from the topmost window of her little cottage over the 
heads of the Confederate column below, and these contemptuously sneer 
at the claims of Mrs. Quantrell as the heroine of that day. Some 
years ago a New York newspaper sent a competent man to Frederick, 
to get at the truth about Barbara Fritchie and her flag. After de- 
scribing the difficulties he found in getting at anything like the truth, 
and telling of the conflicting claims of Mrs. Quantrell and Barabara 
Fritchie, he continued : 

"An intelligent colored man was found who saw Barbara Fritchie 
wave the flag from the dormer window of her small, old-fashioned 
house. It stood on the bank of the creek and by the bridge crossing, 
and on this bridge Fitz Hugh Lee sat on his horse while his men lay 
around at their ease at 'a halt.' There was a flag presentation to 
Captain Dorsey's company of cavalry — raised in or near Frederick. 
The colored man saw Miss Fannie Ebberts, then a young girl, present 
the flag, and at that moment Barbara Fritchie waved the Union flag 
from her window. There was a small excitement among the Confed- 
erates and two men rushed to the house and tried to force the door, 
Fitz Hugh Lee ordered them back, but there was no shooting and 'no 
particular great excitement' after it. All this the colored man saw for 
himself and was glad to describe circumstantially, adding that a good 
old Union man, one Jacob Engelbrecht, living immediately opposite 



16 WAB ANECDOTES 

Barbara Fritchie, saw this also, aud was exultant quietly that 'some one 
lived brave enough to wave the old flag in the face of the rebels.' 

"This statement was strong enough to serve as a basis of inquiry. 
The young girl was found in Mrs. Dorsey, the widow of that very 
Captain Dorsey to whose company she had presented the flag by 
the bridge, while Fitz Hugh Lee looked on and Barbara Fritchie stood 
up so boldly for her side. Mrs. Dorsey, a refined lady in spectacles, 
denied all knowledge of the waving of the flag by the old woman, and 
also did not recollect presenting any flag to any company of Confeder- 
ate cavalry. It may have been ; it was so long ago, and she was very 
knew nothing. Mrs. Fritchie was brave enough to have done such a ) 
young. She heard it reported of a Mrs. Quantrell, but of herself 
thing. Yes ! She w^as of that character of woman. She was known 
to go out and chase the Confederate soldiers from her door and from in 
front of her little house with her cane, not sparing them meanwhile 
the strongest epithets in her jiatriotic denunciation and espousal of the 
Union cause. Mrs. Dorsey clearly understood that such an incident 
did not reflect on General "Stonewall" Jackson or the Confederate 
cause of that day, but there was nothing in it but Mr. Whittier's beau- 
tiful poem. 

"Mrs. Fritchie's house was pulled down in 1869, and there are those 
who do not hesitate to say that the authorities of that time found it 
convenient to widen the creek at that precise spot in order to destroy 
that monument to Barbara Fritchie's staunch loyalty. On the other 
side, the non-believers in Dame Barbara ridicule the idea as absurdly 
false. Canes were made from the wood of this house and sold at the 
Centennial — hundreds of them, with a certificate attached." 

Jacob Engelbrecht, the tailor, who lived opposite, was long since 
dead, but he left a diary, in which he had recorded many things about 
the Confederate occupation at that time, but nothing of neighbor Bar- 
bara's defiance. 

Louis E, Engelbrecht, the grandson of Jacob, says of the Barbara 
Fritchie story that his grandfather did not believe in it. He lived op- 
posite, and must have known of a circumstance so fully in accord with 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 17 

* 

his own feelings if it had occured, but the old gentleman never failed to 
denounce it as a fiction which had no foundation in fact. 

Such are the conflicting versions of the story of Barbara Fritchie. 
Exhaustless inquiries simply duplicate these. But Whittier's poem has 
niched old Barbara Fritchie among the heroines, and she stands there 
looking out bravely. She lies in the graveyard in Frederick, and hun- 
dreds go there every year to do her memory honor. This is fame ! 
The sarcophagus of Alexander could claim no more. And this only 
the humble resting place of an old woman who waved a flag — in a 
poem, and waved it, perhaps, nowhere else. 



BEFORE A LITTLE CHILD. 

It was in one of the numerous forays of the restless Stuart against 
the Army of the Potomac, somewhere in Maryland, that his men 
picked up, near a farmhouse where they had had a lively little brush 
with the Union cavalry, a mere tot of a boy, a very baby, in fact. 
Both its father and mother had been killed, and out of the kindness 
of his heart a big grey and grizzled sergeant among Stuart's rough 
riders took the child into camp, where he and his comrades coddled 
the little fellow in all rough tenderness. He had a tiny flag, the stars 
and stripes, in his hand when found, which he said his papa had given 
him for the "Foof o' July," and that flag he kept. The very next 
evening the grey-coated cavalry were nearly surrounded by the Union 
forces, and only by hard riding and harder fighting did those who 
were mounted get away. The sergeant, with several others, had lost 
his horse, and capture seemed inevitable. Hastily telling his forlorn 
looking squad to follow him, the sergeant put the child on his broad 
shoulder and started in the only direction which seemed to promise es- 
cape. The way led up a long, low ridge, on the top of which were 
two or three haystacks. It was dusk and the few Confederates might 
have escaped in the darkness if some Union soldier had not touched a 
match to the hay. In an instant the scene was as light as day, and 
showed the fleeing Confederates face to face with a long line of Union 
soldiers directly in their path. Escape seemed impossible. They were 



18 WAE ANECDOTES 

in a trap. For an instant the two sides faced each other, the long blue 
line confident and threatening, the squad in grey desperate and defiant. 
At the word of command the Union line leveled their rifles to fire. 
Not fifty paces in front stood the sergeant, in advance of his men, the 
baby on his broad shoulder, flag in hand. To the child, the whole aSair, 
with the waving colors over the line, the gleam of arms and the big 
bonfire, seemed a special diversion in its honor, and its spirits rose to 
the occasion. Just in the awful stillness which came before the order 
to "Fire!" when every breath was hushed before the shock that was 
expected, the child, holding tight to the grizzled head of the only 
friend he had left, raised the other in the air, waved aloft his tiny flag 
in the glare and piped out in his shrill little voice : 

"Foof o' July !" 

Had an apparition from their own firesides suddenly appeared before 
those fathers and sons and brothers holding their rifles that way it 
could not have startled them more. The baby and his flag were the 
most conspicuous objects before them. The tiny figure, its piping 
voice, its little flag and its innocent and total misapprehension of the 
real state of affairs, appealed to the home feelings of the men in whose 
hearts murder had reigned a moment before. They could not have 
pulled a trigger in that direction for all the world, not more than if 
the boy had been their own. The officer who had opened his mouth 
to order "Fire !" lowered his sword, turned his head aside and lifted his 
hand to shut out the eflfect of the shots that he had expected. But 
the looked-for volley never came. The long line of rifles came down 
from the shoulders without a word ; the line of blue seemed to melt 
away; the sergeant in grey passed through, and for once the havoc of 
battle was stayed before a little helpless and innocent child. 



BOUND TO HAVE SPOILS. 

The following is related by an eye-witness : 

"On Jones' West Virginia raid, one day, there w<is a fight near a 
country store. The house was soon abandoned by the occupants, and 
when, soon after, the enemy retired, the store was plundered. It was 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 19 

first come, first served, of course. In a twinkling the dry goods were 
gone ; then the mob began on the miscellaneous articles. My most 
valuable capture was a jar of nutmegs, and by the time they were 
rolled up in a table-cloth, the store was bare. Presently one belated 
soldier entered and looked around for something to steal. There 
was nothing left in sight but a pile of small grindstones. Utter- 
ing a whole volume of oaths at his bad luck, the fellow selected 
one of them, threw it over his shoulder and marched off triumph- 
antly." 

THE VERMONT BRIGADE. 

It was the original intention in organizing the several armies to 
mingle the troops from the States, so that no one State should be able 
to claim any particular achievement by brigade or division. This was 
understood to have been done by orders of Secretary Stanton. But, 
somehow, in organizing the Sixth Corps, a whole brigade was composed 
of Vermont troops exclusively, and the peculiar idiosyncrasies of the 
Vermonters had full development. "The Vermont Brigade" was the 
pet organization of the Army of the Potomac, and Miles O'Keilly de- 
scribed them as honest farmers turned vagabonds — simple countrymen 
changed into heroes. They stole ancient horses and bony cows on the 
march. They pillaged moderately in other things. They swept the 
dairies and they stripped the orchards for miles where they traveled. 
They chased rabbits when they went into camp after long marches, and 
they yelled like wild Indians when neighboring camps were silent 
through fatigue. They were ill-disciplined and familiar with their 
officers. They swaggered in a cool, impudent way, and looked down 
with a patronizing Yankee coolness upon all regiments that were better 
drilled, and upon that part of the army generally that did not belong 
to the Vermont Brigade. They were strangely proud, not of them- 
selves individually, but of the brigade collectively ; for they knew 
perfectly well they were the best fighters in the known world. They 
were long of limb and could outmarch the army. They were individu- 
ally self-reliant and skillful in the use of arms and they honestly 



20 WAB ANECDOTES 

believed that the Vermont Brigade could not be beaten by all the com- 
bined armies of the rebellion. 

They were veterans in fighting qualities almost from the first 
skirmish. This was at Lee's Mills. They crossed a narrow dam under 
fire, made the attack they were instructed to make, and came back 
wading deep in the water, with a steadiness that surprised the army. 
They were an incorrigible, irregular, noisy set of rascals. They were 
much sworn at during their four years of service ; yet they were, at all 
times, a pet brigade. There were but two things they would do — 
march and fight, and these they did in a manner peculiarly their own. 
They had a long, slow, swinging stride on the march, which distanced 
everything that followed them. They had a quiet, attentive, earnest, 
individual way of fighting that made them terrific in battle. Each 
man knew that his neighbor in the ranks was not going to run away, 
and he knew, also, that he himself intended to remain where he was. 
Accordingly, none of the attention of the line was directed from the 
important duties of loading and firing, rapidly and carefully. When 
moving into action, and while hotly engaged, they made queer, quaint 
jokes, and enjoyed them greatly. They crowed like cocks, they 
ba-a-ed like sheep, they neighed like horses, they bellowed like bulls, 
they barked like dogs, and they counterfeited, with excellent eflfect, 
the indescribable music of the mule. When, perchance, they held a 
picket line in the forest it seemed as if Noah's ark had gone to pieces 
there. 

When the Vermonters led the column on a march, their quick 
movements had to be regulated from corps or division headquarters 
to avoid gaps in the column as it followed them. If a rapid or forced 
march was required, it was a common thing for Sedgwick to say, with 
a quiet smile : "Put the Vermonters at the head of the column to-day 
and keep everything well closed up." 

This record does not include the wonderful exploit of the brigade at 
Gettysburg, or the feat of once repulsing the Confederate advance in 
line of battle in a night attack while the brigade was deployed in 
skirmish line. Instead of retiring, as any weU ordered skirmish line 



IN CID ENTS OF AR M Y L IFE 21 

is expected to do before a general advance of the enemy, the Vermont- 
ers stuck to it and drove back the enemy without the main Union line 
ever being disturbed. 



A ''COLONEL" WITHOUT A COMMISSION. 
"Colonel" Lewis, as he was called, was a noted character in a Penn- 
sylvania regiment. He was the wit of the company, and by all odds 
its queerest character. He was one of the oldest men and was cer- 
tainly the wickedest man in the regiment. He had once been a 
Methodist local preacher, and gloried in his backsliding. His title 
of "Colonel" was an honorary one, given him by the boys, in honor 
of his age and wickedness. After the battle of South Mountain he was 
detailed with some others, under command of a corporal, to gather up 
the arms and accoutrements scattered on the field, which they col- 
lected into a pile and the "Colonel" was stationed as a guard over 
them. Orders came to move, and the others joined the command, but 
the "Colonel" remained at his post like Casabianca on the burning 
deck. The regiment remained in the vicinity for some time, but the 
"Colonel" didn't put in an appearance. Antietam was fought and 
the regiment moved on into Virginia, and in December fought at 
Fredericksburg, but still no "Colonel" Lewis approached. Finally, 
one day about Christmas, he came swaggering into camp, with high- 
top boots, spurs, an officer's overcoat and cap and sword. He had not 
dared don the shoulder-straps, as that would subject him to severe 
punishment. He was at once conducted to Colonel Hoffman's quar- 
ters and there related his adventure, which relation was afterward 
found to be substantially correct. When he found that the army had 
moved away and left him, he went to a farm house, stated that he had 
been left in command, ordered the best the house afforded, pressed the 
contrabands into service and proceeded to collect and store all the 
stray horses, guns, saddles, uniforms and equipments in the vicinity. 
He remained several weeks as sole commander of that department 
and had a royal time. Finally his fame reached the ears of the com- 
mander at Harper's Ferry, who sent out and had him arrested and 



22 WAR ANECDOTES 

brought in. The "Colonel" explained the situation, insisting that 
he was properly detailed and in the line of his duty, and ])y his wit 
and assurance got released and received transportation to his regiment. 



WHAT HE FOUGHT FOE. 

One day the opposing pickets on the Rappahannock agreed not to 
fire at each other for a time. It was not in human nature to be so 
close and say nothing, and presently a brisk conversation arose between 
a Texan Confederate and a Union Irishman. "What are you doing 
in the Yankee Army?" said the Texan. "What are you fighting for, 
anyhow ?" 

"I'm fitin' fer thirteen dollars a month," retorted Pat. "I belave 
yez are fitin' fer elivin." 

The conversation ended right there. 



WHO DID THE BRA VEST FHJHTIKG. 

A veteran who had been asked, "Who did the bravest fighting in 
the war ?" answered as follows : 

' 'The women who staid at home. The mothers, and the sisters, and 
the cousins, and the aunts — above all, the sweethearts and wives — ^who 
waited and watched and wore their hearts out in such fear and longing 
as God's very shepherd's crook and and staff alone enabled them to 
bear — they did the bravest fighting, ^ext to them the surgeons 
and nurses in the hospitals, where every breath they drew was 
from an atmosphere of sufiering and anguish unspeakable. You re- 
member the girl in (I think it is) one of Mrs. Whitney's stories, who 
so often says, 'Oh, dear! There is fun going on, and I'm not in it!' 
Well, in the army we often had fun — I think most of the time we had 
fun in one way and another — and the women at home Avere 'not in it.' 
Where was the chance for fun among those waiting women, whose very 
souls — might, mind and strength — were bound up in doing for our dis- 
abled, sick and wounded, in hospital or in prison, and in the patient 
waiting and longing and fearing for 'news from the front?' What 



IN CID ENTS OF ARMY LIFE 23 

glint of sunshine could come to brighten and sweeten the lives of these, 
or of the surgeons and nurses in our hospitals, who never drew a 
breath of air not thick with disease and pain, suffering and death? 
AYhat tenderness and daring of the bravest in the field could equal 
that of the sweetheart, or wife, or mother, who buckled on the sword 
of her knight, and in mingled pride and anguish sent him to 'do his 
devoir,' and peril his life and hers, in defense of his country? What 
soldier would not have rather charged into the open mouth of a battery 
than have suffered the anguish of these women, or to have endured, 
without the excitement and afflatus of battle, the terrible suffering of 
wounded and dying comrades in hospital or prison?" 



CAPTURED BY HIS OLD COLONEL. 

John Sanders, of the Fourth Michigan Infantry, w^as captured at 
Gaines' Mill by a regiment in Magruder's division of the Confederate 
Army. Before being turned over to the guard that would take them 
to Richmond the prisoners were brought to Magruder's headquarters, 
and were looked over by that General and his staff. Sanders, think- 
ing he might be placed in the officers' squad — where he would receive 
better treatment — if he should be recognized by Magruder, called 
out: 

"Hello, General Magruder. How have you been these twenty 
years ?" 

"Who the devil are you?" asked Magruder, in great surprise. 

"I'm John Sanders. I was in Company B, Fourth Infantry, in the 
Mexican war." 

"Who was your Colonel?" inquired the General, very sternly. 

"You Avere." 

"Your Captain?" 

"Anderson." 

"Your First Lieutenant?" 

"Roberts." 

"Gentlemen, he was thar," cried Magruder, turning to his staff. 
"This fellow was in my regiment in the Mexican Avar. W-e-l-I, AAell. 



24 WAR ANECDOTES 

Gentlemen, what can we do for one of my old boys, who has happened 
to get on the wrong side this time ?" 

The staff laughed, talked together a few minutes, and Sanders was 
ordered to fall out of line, while the others were sent to Kichmond. 
Presently he was given in cha/ge of an escort, who took him toward 
McClellan's lines, hoisted a white flag and turned him over to the 
Union pickets. It had paid him to be captured by his old Colonel. 



GOING ONE EYE ON IT. 

In the winter of 1861 the Seventh Georgia Volunteers lay in camp 
at Centerville, Ga. The boys had learned to "run the blockade" with 
the excellent applejack so abundant in that neighborhood, and the 
camp was kept constantly well supplied. 

One day General Joseph E. Johnston, thinking the applejack had 
taken the place of water long enough, seized all the applejack in camp 
and town, had it carted to the river and the heads of the barrels 
knocked in, preparatory to pouring the contents into the stream. The 
General then, after ordering the barrels emptied, thinking to intimidate 
his men, drew his sword with the threat that he would cut out the first 
man's eyes who attempted to drink a drop of it. 

An Irishman at once stepped from the ranks of his company, and 
covering one eye with his hat, said : 

"Be Jasus, General! I guess I'll go one eye on't." 

The General was beaten. He walked away without another word. 
Of course, there was a laugh and a hurrah, and it may be that some 
of the boys went more than one eye on it while the General's order 
was being executed. 



WASN'T AT ALL FINICAL. 

^Vhen in the vicinity of Yorktown General Magruder and staff were 
invited to dinner, and in deference to a custom among soldiers, ac- 
cepted the invitation. As the party moved toward the table, a very 
ragged soldier quietly occupied a seat intended for one of the staff 



7.V CID ENTS OF ARM Y L IFF 25 

officers, and began a vigorous onslaught on the edibles, to the great 
disgust of the gallant General. 

"Do you know, sir," demanded that officer, "whom you are dining 
with ?" 

"No!" responded the intruder, with a contemptuous glance at little 
"Red Breeches," "I used to be a little particular about that, but 

since I've been in the army I don't care a , so that the victuals 

are clean." 

After that the meal was discussed in silence, and the General paid 
for the soldier's dinner. 



PERFECTLY UNSOPHISTICATED. 
Captain F., of the Signal Corps, was visiting his posts near Cul- 
pepper, when an infantryman lounged up to the man on duty and 
seemed deeply interested while the signal-man was "flopping" away 
right and left with his flag. After gazing a while the soldier drawled 
out, "I sa-a-y, str-a-nger, are the fli-ies a pestering of you?" 



THE POWER OF COFFEE. 

"When we were in front of Chattanooga," writes an old soldier, 
"it became fashionable to exchange papers. Finally, strict orders 
were given against it. Still, the boys would do it. After while there 
came no more signals for exchange from the other side, and we knew 
the Confederates had received the same orders. But one morning 
quite early my partner discovered a man on the Confederate line 
frantically waving a large paper. He suggested that we slip away 
from the reserve and go out and see what the man wanted. He took 
a paper, waved it, and we started for the Confederate in front. 
When we had proceeded about half way to the point of meeting, the 
fellow ceased to wave his paper. We were puzzled at this, but 
finally concluded that he was down in a hollow, and we would see him 
when he came up on high ground. So we walked on and walked 
without warning into a group of soldiers at the Confederate picket 
post. The men were just ready to take breakfast, and after the first 



26 WAR ANECDOTES 

flurry they joked us a good deal about our extraordinary willingness 
to get into their clutches at breakfast time. When we spoke of the 
exchange of papers the officer in charge informed us that orders were 
positive against exchange, and that all his men understood it. As 
this was the case, he took the ground that we had willingly come into 
their lines, aud that he could not allow us to return. I saw at once 
that his men disagreed with him, but the question was how we were 
to get away. 

"My partner, who had been a soldier in Germany, joined in the jokes 
at our expense, aud proposed that he make the boys some coffee that 
was coffee. The Confederates had a very poor excuse for that article, 
and without more ado he proceeded to make a kettle of coffee, the 
aroma of which seemed to fascinate the cofiee-hungry sharpshooters. 
When he had poured the coffee into the cups and had expatiated on the 
good it would do to the men, he took up his rifle and said to me : 
'Now, let us start for our own line.' I followed him, and not a soldier 
on that picket post lowered the cup of coffee from his lips or looked 
our way. 



WOULUT SEE A SOLDIER DEFRAUDED. 

Once upon a time, at a place and date which had, maybe, better not 
be given, a gang of Confederate cavalrymen, of that class which the 
French style "zephyrs," and we call "bummers," boarded a railway 
train which had been stojiped between two flourishing cities, and 
began to levy contributions on the passengers. 

They were in a great hurry, because they expected every moment 
the arrival of a detail of guards, which would not only interrupt their 
operations, but make it warm for them, if caught. 

There were a number of Jews on th-^ train, en route from the more 
southern city to buy goods in the other and more favorably located 
point, and their pocket-books were well lined. 

The "bummers" were prancing around in this crowd, and "going 
through" the sorrowful Hebrews in a scandalous way, when, it is 
related, a long, lank, slab-sided Michigan Union cavalryman, who had 



IN CID ENTS OF ARMY L IFE 27 

been very philosophically watching all that transpired, as if a quite 
familiar scene to him, reached out and grabbed the most active 
examiner by the jacket and said: "Hold on a minute, Reb., I want 
to tell you something." 

"Well, now, spit it out quick," said the Confederate, "I always like 
to treat prisoners right, but I ain't got much time. That d— d stuck up 
provost guard will be along d'rectly, and we'll be 'bleeged to quit 
work." 

"I aint goin' to detain you. You see that Jew sittin' over thar. I 
see him take his pocket-book, just now, and stuff it under the seat. 
I wanted to give you the pint." 

The other started ofl like a shot out of a shovel, but the Michi- 
gauder pulled him back again. "I don't want to be misunderstood," 
he said. "You needn't think I'm trying to curry favor with you 
fellows, becuz I'm a prisoner. I've fit you for three year, and I'm 
goin' at it agin as soon as I'm exchanged, but, for all that, I don't 
want to see no d — d Jetv defraud a soldier. 



CAME NEAR MISSING HIM. 

At Altoona a rifle took General Corse alongside of the head. 
General Sherman received word from Corse that his ear and a portion 
of his cheek bone were gone, but that he was stiU able to hold his 
position and fight it out. As soon as possible Sherman got over to see 
him, full of anxiety. He found Corse with his head swathed in 
bandages, and, in his anxiety to know the nature of the injuries, 
impatiently ordered the surgeon to remove the cloths. This was done 
slowly, and with great formality, and there was revealed a slight 
scratch on the cheek and a hole in the ear. 

Sherman looked intently at it, and calmly remarked, "Why, Corse, 
they came near missing you, didn't they ?" 



''GEE THEM, SIR, GEE THEM." 
General Buford was a turf man, and his most forcible expressions 
were naturally of the ' 'horse" order. His brigade was first under fire 



28 WAE ANECDOTES 

at Perryville, and in oue of the preliminary skirmishes he ordered 

Captain J to "oblique his company to the right." The Captain, 

misunderstanding the order, was leading his men to the left, which the 

General observed and yelled out: "Captain , I told you to 

oblique your company to the right. If you dont know what I mean 
by 'Right Oblique,' sir, then gee them, sir, gee them, gee them!" 



A REVELATION IN SLANG. 

A curious habit prevailed among the soldiers, in the latter part 
of the war, ot designating their respective companies and battalions by 
the queer names of "outfit" and "layout," while they would call a 
brigade a "shebang." 

The story goes that General Polignac, the Frenchman who espoused 
the cause of the South and served her with distinguished bravery to 
the last, was once accosted by a bright eyed Creole boy, Avho announced 
that he had just returned from a furlough, and wished to know where 
he could find Colonel Censir's "lay-out." 

"Colonel Censir's whatf" shouted the General, his eyes bulging with 
astonishment. 

"Colonel Censir's 'layout,' " repeated the lad, "it belongs to your 
'shebang.'" 

"Well, I hope to land in ," ejaculated Polignac, who, when 

excited, sometimes became profane, "if I know what ze little diable 
mean ! I have been educated all my life in ze armee. I have hear 
of ze compagnie, ze battalion, ze brigade and ze division, but I agree 
to be to , if I ever hear of ze 'lay-out' or ze 'shebang' before." 



"OE, YOU S WEET DARLING ! " 

One day during the war a detachment of General Basil Duke's 
troops was moving through Northern Kentucky. They were worn 
out and hunted down. Their horses Avere nearly foundered. The 
men were ragged and dirty. They halted for rest near a young ladies 
seminary whose inmates were all staunch sympathizers Avith the Con- 
federacy. Out came the young ladies Avhen they saw the grey coats. 



IN CID EN TS OF ARMY LIFE 29 

They brought out food, drink and armfuls of flowers. They hung 
garlands around the necks of the hunted men and sang in a musical 
chorus: "Oh, You Darling Confederates!" A straggler, who had 
been unable to keep up with the rest, because he had such a poor 
mount, now came up, flogging a jaded hack along, swearing because 
he had not been able to keep up. He yelled out: "Oh, You Sweet 
Darling Confederates, the Yanks are coming!" There was a bolt at 

this. The laggard pounded on behind, sweanng: "O, You 

Sweet Darlings, I hope the Yanks will get you !" The Union cavalry- 
men were right at his heels. His companions wheeled in their saddles 
and laughed at his certain capture. But his tired horse stumbled and 
fell and threw him into a ditch. The enemy swept by and made 
prisoners of every one of the main band, but he laid low, was not 
seen and so escaped. 



'' SCHWARTZ'S BATTERY IS TOOKT 

General Grant was very fond of telling the following story of 
the battle of Shiloh : 

"During the battle an oflEicer rode' furiously up to him, touched his 
cap and said with German accent : 'Sheneral, I wants to make von 
report ; Schwartz's battery is took.' 'That's bad,' said Grant ; 'how 
did it happen ?' * Vhy, Sheneral, de sheshenists came oop in de front 
ov us, and dey came oop in de rear of us, und dey come oop in der 
flank of us, und, veil, Schwartz's battery vas took.' 'You spiked the 
guns, of course ?' said the General. ' Vhat !' screamed the Dutchman, 
in excited astonishment. 'Schpike dem guns, schpike dem new guns ! 
Tunter und blitzen, no ! It would have schpoil dem.' 'Well, sir,' 
said the General sharply, 'what did you do?' 'Do? Do, Sheneral? 
Vhy, we tooked dem back again !'" 



NEVER HAD DIED AXD WOULDN'T. 
Jacob Smith, of Company B, Third New Hampshire Regiment, 
was what Artemas Ward would have called a "comical cuss." He 
was a big fellow, but with a thin, squeaky voice, which sounded as 



30 WAB ANECDOTES 

if it belonged to some little boy half a mile away. The regiment was 
before Charleston in 1863, and in the fighi on James' Island, Jake 
was badly wounded and was carried to the hospital. The surgeon 
came to him and carefully examined the hurt. "It's all up, Jake," 
said he ; "there is no chance of you getting over it." 

"I don't know about that," said Jake, in his little squeaky tones; 
"I don't know about that. I never did die, and I won't do it now." 

The thin, rasping voice had been pitched high in its intense indig- 
nation, and created a laugh in spite of the surroundings. But Jake 
kept his word. He never had died before ; he didn't die then. In 
fact he recovered, passed through all the other dangers of the war, 
and went back home at its close, hale and hearty; nor did he die 
until at least a dozen years after he so gallantly defied death on the 
sand hills of Charleston Harbor. 



THE COLONEL'S EXCUSE. 
It is said that Confederate and Union cavalry on the mountains of 
Kentucky and Tennessee, whenever their supplies ran short, would 
borrow ammunition from each other ; but on one occasion they had a 
"sure enough" fight, in which the Confederate Colonel P. was worsted 
and lost one of those diminutive nuisances, called mountain howitzers. 
The fact of the loss of artillery coming to the ears of the department 
commander, he sent for the defeated Colonel and sternly asked him 
how he had lost his cannon. 

"Why, General," said the Colonel, "soldiers took that cannon!" 
"Well," replied, the commander, "what if soldiers did take it?" 
"Soldiers!" responded the Colonel, "why, soldiers will take anybody's 
cannon !" 



BUTLERS FAMOUS ORDER. 

Except the Emancipation Proclamation no paper issued during the 

war attracted the attention directed to the famous order of General 

Butler, when in command of New Orleans, that women insulting his 

soldiers should be treated "as women of the town." Particularly in 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 31 

England was there loud indignation expressed at the supposed harsh- 
ness of the order. Years after the close of the war, on the occasion of 
a visit of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of London 
to Washington, they called upon General Butler, and in the course of 
conversation one of the visitors. Major Becker, frankly asked the 
General about that famous order for the summary and degrading 
punishment of any woman who should insult a soldier, the Major 
stating frankly that it had caused a good deal of indignation among 
chevalier Englishmen. 

It must have been with a great deal of satisfaction, in view of all 
the circumstances, that General Butler replied : 

"Well, gentlemen, I am very glad to tell you how that happened. 
One of my officers, a modest, Christian gentleman, went to church one 
Sunday. Just as he was about to enter the door a woman stepped up 
to him and spit iu his face. On his return he reported the occurrence 
tome. 'What did you do ?' I asked. 'Do, General,' said he, 'what 
could I do ? I just took out my handkerchief, wiped my face and went 
into the church.' I said : 'That's all right, but I can't stand this sort 
of thing, and I'm g»nng to do something about it.' I looked over a 
whole lot of city ordinances and municipal regulations and papers of 
that sort, and at last, gentlemen, I found just what I wanted in a 
regulation of the city of London, which I copied and made the basis 
of the famous order which caused so much indignation among the good 
people across the water and elsewhere. I want to tell you, furtlier- 
more," pursued the General, "that it was a perfectly effective order. 
There was not a single case of punishment under it. The lixdies of 
New Orleans wouldn't violate it because they did not wish to be taken 
for women of the town, and the women of the town wouldn't violate 
it because they wished to be taken for ladies." 



A KEY TO SHILOS. 

Captain Joe Laur, who fought at Shiloh on the Union side, some 
years after the war was over fell in company in Illinois with au intelli- 
gent and very respectable looking negro, who, in the course of 



32 WAE ANECDOTES 

conversatiou, said he had once lived near the celebrated battle-ground. 
The negro said that in 1862 he belonged to Mr. Cherry, who lived at 
Savannah. Cherry was a strong Union man, and General Grant had 
his headquarters at his house. One night General Grant told his Ad- 
jutant to let General Buell know that there was no occasion for 
him to rush his men, as it would be a week before they would be ready 
to march to Corinth, and in the meantime little would be done. Mrs. 
Cherry overheard this, and she was a Confederate — not to Grant, but 
to everybody else. So she quietly went to the kitchen, wrote a note 
to Beauregard, and told the negro what it was and what he should do 
with it. He got a horse, passed the lines, shot through the darkness 
to Beauregard's headquarters, and put the note in the General's hand. 
Everything began to move, Beauregard rushed toward Pittsburg 
Landing, and — we have all read the rest of the story. 



CAPTURING A MILE OF PICKETS. 

Captain Robert H. Taylor, of the Twentieth Indiana, tells of the 
unique achievement of capturing a mile of Confederate pickets before 
Fort Hell, at Petersburg, Ya., in July, 1864: 

The Confederate picket-line was about 150 yards in front of our 
fort and their sharpshooters were constantly picking our men off; so 
one day I remarked to our Colonel, G. W. Meikeal, that if he would 
give me twenty days' leave of absence I would take 100 volunteers 
out of the regiment and clean out that picket-line some dark night. 
He went to brigade and division headquarters and the arrangements 
were soon made. Captain A. S. Andrews and myself were put in 
command of the detachment, composed of almost 100 men who had 
been tried in many a tight place. On the day appointed Andrews 
and myself reconnoitered the line at different places to see if all was 
quiet and to find the best place to make the break. We formed our 
men at midnight, without canteens or haversacks or anything that 
would rattle or make a noise. We marched out and up to within 
about thirty yards of the Confederate picket-line, and then lay 
down to wait for the time agreed upon for the attack, which was 1 



IN CID ENTS OF ARMY L IFE 33 

o'clock. When the time came we arose without any command, and 
slipped up as quietly as we could until we were seen by a videt. We 
then went in on a run and cleaned out the line as we went. We lifted 
the pickets right out of their rifle-pits by the nape of the neck, gave 
them a kick and told them to get to the rear. The Berdans made a 
similar move to the left, and in less than ten minutes we had taken 
over one mile of their picket-line and captured eighty-three prisoners 
without firing a gun or losing a man. We reversed their rifle-pits and 
made it our line. The Ninety-ninth Pennsylvania were sent out to 
help hold the line and lost several men. In the morning our Colonel, 
George W. Meikeal, came alone the line, congratulating the boys, and 
not knowing the lay of the ground or where the Confederates were, 
he went on a rise in the ground which brought him in view of them. 
They fired a volley at him, and I think that eleven shots 
struck him, killing him instantly. I warned him as he passed me not 
to go any further down the line, as the enemy were just over the rise. 
He said that they had not made the bullet to kill him yet, and in less 
than one minute he was a dead man. We went out at midnight with- 
out water or food and remained until dark the next day. Some of 
the boys ran the gauntlet for water. 



G VERNOR CUR TIN'S FIER Y DISPA TCH. 
Among the curious documents on file in the War Department is 
one from Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, to Secretary of War 
Stanton, which has a singular history, equal to its startling phrase- 
ology. This history is as follows : Among the thousands of Union 
soldiers who were languishing in Southern prisons were many Penn- 
sylvanians. Governor Curtin came to Washington to see Stanton 
about an exchange of prisoners. The Governor stood aghast at the 
brutal reply Stanton made to his appeal. Said the Secretary of War : 
"Do you suppose I am going to exchange ten thousand fat, healthy 
Confederates for a like number of human skeletons?" Governor 
Curtin looked him in the face and said : "Are you a human being, a 
Christian man or a brutal fiend to express such sentiments ? " "Think 



34 WAE ANECDOTES 

of me as you will," said Mi\ Stanton, "you have ray answer." The 
Governor returned to Pennsylvania, and in a few days Stanton wx'ote 
to him, but did not allude to their recent interview. He urged Gov- 
ernor Curtin to come to Washington. The Governor telegraphed : 
"Will you make an exchange of prisoners?" Stanton answered: 
"No." Curtin replied: "Go to h — 1." That telegram is on file 
along with the correspondence. 



A TALE OF GETTYSBURG. 

When the sleepy old town of Gettysburg was electrified into the 
most vigorous life in the last days of June, 1863, by the knowledge 
that Lee's army would soon be in its streets, the telegraph operator 
realized that both for his own personal convenience and as a patriotic 
duty he should be absent and take with him his telegraph instrument. 
Accordingly he prepared a swift horse, intending to remain until the 
last moment and then flee as fast as his horse could take him. At last 
a messenger, breathless with haste, brought the word that the Confed- 
erate cavalry advance was in sight, and just as they appeared at the 
end of the street, the operator, having sent northward a hurried mes- 
sage, cut the wires, tore his instrument from its table, and mounting 
his horse, disappeared in the other direction. As was expected, the 
telegraph oflUce was the first place visited by the Confederate advance 
guard. It was in a little dry goods store on the main street, just op- 
posite the Lutheran Church, so soon to be a hospital. The store was 
owned by two maiden sisters, who lived above it, and who had closed 
their doors and retreated upstairs on seeing the Confederate advance. 
The officer in command, certain he was at the right place, knocked 
loudly. "Miss Mary" opened an upper window and asked what was 
wanted. Her idea was to gain every possible minute for the operator, 
but so imperious was the summons to open the door and so vigorous 
were the kicks that were rained upon it, that she thought it best to delay 
but little. 

"You have taken your time, madam," said the officer, sternly, when 
at last they faced each other at the threshhold. "Where is the opera- 



INCID EN TS OF ARMY L IFF 05 

tor ?" he continued, as he entered and saw the severed wires on the 
little desk. 

"Gone," she answered, with trembling lips. 
"Gone where?" 

"I — I — don't know. He went away on horseback " 

The officer's eyes flashed. He drew a pistol from his belt and made 
a suggestive movement as he repeated his question. 

"I don't know," again answered Miss Mary. 

"How long has he been gone?" 

Miss Mary hesitated. Falsehood was foreign to her open nature. 
But to tell the truth might, probably would, result in the capture of 
the operator and his instrument, and through that possible danger to 
the Union cause by false messages being sent, or the capture of im- 
portant Union news. The poor woman had no time to reason the 
matter with her conscience — yet she still hesitated. The pistol was 
raised. 

"Answer me," said the officer, "and mind, now, the truth." 

"About two hours and a half or three hours," she stammered, in an 
agony of terror. 

The officer watched her face a moment and then lowered his weapon. 

"Who else is in the house?" he demanded, after a moment's pause. 

"My sister." 

She went into the back room. She meant to go upstairs and bring 
her sister, but the Captain sternly ordered her to call her. He meant 
to allow no conference. 

Miss Jane came down the stairs and faced him. Again he asked 
what had become of the operator. Miss Mary saw the awful danger 
into which her falsehood had placed her. But all fear had now left 
her, though she listened for the reply as if it might be her own death 
warrant. 

"He cut the wires, took the instrument and rode away on horse- 
back." 

"How long ago?" 

The question was emphasized, as before, by a movement toward his 



3ti WAE ANECDOTES 

pistol. Miss Jane saw it, but gave no sign. She raised her eyes, 
looked him calmly in the face and said, very quietly : 

"About two hours and a half or three hours." 

The officer's face fell. He put up his pistol, muttered an apology 
for his stern manner and threatening actions, and proceeded to search 
the house, of course without avail. 

The answers of the two sisters were purely accidental, and the 
coincidence of the surely excusable falsehoods was a joy to both of 
them. 



JACKSON'S SIGN OF BATTLE. 

"Sam," said a curious correspondent, to a negro who had served for 
a time at "Stonewall" Jackson's headquarters, "Was the General 
kind to you ?" 

"Dat he was, massa, all de time ; in trouble an' out of it, jes the 
same." 

"Was he a praying man ?" 

"Prayin'? Why, I never seen no preacher what prayed much as 
him. 'Feared like, when he wuzn't fitin' or tendiu' to bizness, he wuz 
allers prayin' ; an' when you hear him git up two or three times a 
night an' kneel, den jes' look out fer de naixt day !" 



THE PEACH BAISERS MISTAKE. 
Early in the fall of 1861 Richardson's Michigan Brigade was en- 
camped south of the Potomac, near a famous peach orchard, the fruit 
in which was just beginning to ripen. The owner sent a plaintive 
request to General Richardson for a guard, which was readily granted, 
much to the regret of the soldiers, to whom the luscious fruit was a 
great temptation. One day, when the heat was so great that he had 
thrown off his coat and vest, down to his red flannel shirt, General 
Richardson strolled along until he came to the peach orchard, around 
which were stationed the guards he had furnished. The trees Avcre 
bending under a bounteous crop of tempting peaches, and the Gen- 
eral's mouth watered for a taste just as any private's mouth would 



INCIDENTS OF AR3IY LIFE 37 

have watered under the circumstances. Going up to the house he met 
the owner at the door and politely asked permission to pick a few 
peaches. 

"No, sir," was the gruff reply. "I will allow no one to enter my 
premises ; but if you want some peaches, I'll get them for you." 

So saying, he stepped inside the gate, and in a short time returned 
with some fine specimens of the luscious fruit, which the General ate 
with great relish and then asked how much was to pay. 

"Fifty cents," was the reply. 

This was paid without the least hesitation, and then turning around, 
the General called out, "Guards, go to your quarters!" 

"Sir," roared the peach orchard owner, "I would have you to know 
that General Richardson put these guards on here." 

Quick as thought came the reply, "Well, by , sir. General 

Richardson now discharges them." 

As the word passed along the line, the boys stood "not upon the 
order of their going," but went at once. In less than half an hour 
the whole brigade, numbering about 4,000 men, were industriously 
engaged in picking peaches, and if "the locusts, the lice and the 
frogs" that once preyed upon the inhabitants of Egypt in ancient 
days, had descended all at once upon that man's premises, he could 
not have experienced more disastrous results. 



.4 CHIVALROUS SKIRMISHER. 

It was on the 3d of July, at Gettysburg, and in front of the ex- 
treme right of Hancock's (Second) corps. There was an open space 
acro.ss which both skirmish lines had repeatedly charged, only to be 
repulsed and to leave it dotted with dead and wounded. It was near 
noon and the sun beat unmercifully down on that open ground. The 
cries of the wounded were pitiful and could constantly be heard in 
spite of the rattle and clatter of the destructive fire-works. About 
midway between the lines was a tree that had served as a noonday 
resting spot for the harvest hands in more peaceful summers, and 
around the roots of this tree had lain all that morning several 



38 WAE ANECDOTES 

Confederate sharpshooters, whose execution both on the Union skirmish- 
ers and on the Union batteries posted on the ridge behind had drawn 
upon them many vows of vengeance. Within an hour the Con- 
federate battle lines were to make their brave, but to them disastrous, 
charge over the same ground. There came a sudden lull in the firing 
on this part of the skirmish lines and the Union soldiers rose to their 
feet to ascertain the cause. A Confederate was approaching from the 
tree, holding up his right hand. Thinking he meant to desert, some 
of them called out to him, *'Come over, Johnny! we'll not fire!" 
But he came until within forty or fifty yards and then knelt down, 
and they saw that this Confederate dead shot, who had for hours been 
helping to work havoc among them, was holding up the head of a 
prostrate wounded Union soldier while he gave him a drink from his 
canteen. Such a shout as went up ! Both sides stood upon their feet 
within full view of one another and cheered the noble act. The Con- 
federate, having accomplished his purpose, made haste back to his 
fellow-shari^shooters at the tree. Enmity had been disarmed for a 
moment, and there was a reluctance to begin firing again, but a clear 
voice from the roots of the tree called out: "Take care, Yanks! we're 
going to fire ! " and the bloody work went on. 



THE MAN WHO COWED STANTON. 
FcAV men could boast that they had ever succeeded in making the 
great War Secretary change his purpose, especially by a threat. But 
that was actually accomplished more than once by W^ard H. Lamon, 
Marshal of the District of Columbia under Lincoln, whose partner 
he had once been. Laraon was a man of gigantic size and herculean 
strength, who feared no man living. In the jail were a number of 
colored men, under legal commitment. For some reason Stanton 
wished them discharged, which Lamon refused. One day, when he 
had gone out to dinner, the Military Governor, under Stanton's order, 
took possesion of the jail and put a sergeant and squad of soldiers in 
charge. When Lamon returned he consulted his counsel, and finding 
this action wholly without warrant of law, without waiting for any 



IJfCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 39 

process from the court, went to work in his righteous indignation to 
undo the wrong. Alone and with his own big, strong hands, he dis- 
armed the entire party, took the keys from the sergeant, ignomini- 
ously locked him and his men in the jail, aod calmly reported his 
daring action to the President. He was sustained, as he always was, 
by the President, and in due time a ponderous opinion from Attorney 
General Bates put an end to the military siege of the jail, which 
Lamon meanwhile had put into a posture of defense and determined 
to hold at any cost. About the same time Mr. Stanton had made up 
his mind to seize a house that Lamon had bought and was fitting up 
for the reception of his family. "If you do that," said Lamon, at 
the conclusion of an interview in which the Secretary had been very 
offensive, "Pll kill you !" Stanton went immediately to the President, 
and informed him that the Marshal had threatened to murder him. 
"Well, Stanton," said Lincoln, "if he really said it, Fd advise you to 
prepare for your end, for he's a man of his Avord. But I'll see him, 
and try if I can't get him to spare your life on my account. He's a 
great friend of mine, you know." But Mr. Stanton did not take the 
house. 



A COOL GENERAL. 

General Leonidas Polk, of the Confederate army, frequently told 
the following story of the battle of Perryville: 

"Late in the evening, when it was almost dark, Siddell's brigade 
came into action. Shortly after its arrival I observed a body of men, 
whom I believed to be Confederates, standing at an angle to this 
brigade, and firing obliquely at them. I said: 'This must be stopped,' 
and looked about for some ofmy staff to send with orders to cease firing. 
But they were all absent on different messages, and so I determined to 
go myself. Cantering up to the Colonel of the regiment that was 
firing, I asked in angry tones, what he meant by shooting his friends, 
and ordered him to cease firing at once. He said with surprise: 'I 
don't think there can be any mistake about it, for I am d — d certain 
they are the enemy!' 'Enemy!' I said, "why I have just left them 



40 WAR ANECDOTES 

myself. Cease firing, sir. What is your name, sir?' 'My name is 

Colonel , of the — — th Indiana; and, pray, who are you, sir? 

Then I saw to my great astonishment, that he was a Yankee, and that 
I was in the rear of a regiment of Union soldiers. I saw there was 
no hope but to brazen it out. My dark blouse and the increasing ob- 
scurity befriended me; so I approached quite close to him and shook 
my fist in his face, saying, 'I'll soon show you who I am, sir. Cease 
firing, sir, at once!' I then turned my horse and cantered slowly down 
the line, shouting in an authoritative manner for them to cease firing. 
At the same time I was conscious of a disagreeable sensation passing 
up my l)ack, and I found myself calculating how many bullets I was 
likely to get between my shoulders. I was afraid to increase ray 
speed until I got to a small copse, when I put the spurs into my 
horse's flanks and galloped back to my own men. I do not know how 
long before the Union officer found that he had obeyed the commands 
of a Confederate General. I never went back to find out." 



RESPECT FOR A HERO'S BLOOD. 

At Fourche Dam, Arkansas, a few miles below Little Rock, when 
General Steele was advancing on that place, and a stand was being 
made to cover the Confederate retreat under General Price, Jeffries, 
with his Missouri Brigade, charged a Union battery supported by 
cavalry. The cavalry, from the suddenness of the attack, was thrown 
into confusion and retreated, leaving the guns unsupported. The 
Captain of the battery, a young man from Chicago, stood by one of 
the guns, with a revolver in each hand, firing rapidly. He was com- 
pletely surrounded, but refused to surrender. The Confederates, in 
admiration of his bravery, stopped firing and cheered him. He was 
repeatedly told to surrender, and as often refused. He continued to 
fire, and had wounded several men. 

"This thing is gettin' tiresome, Cap'n," yelled a lank Missourian, 
"an' if you don't behave yourself an' quit your skylarkin' you'll git 
hurt!" 

The brave fellow, Avith a disdainful gesture, exclaimed: 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 41 

"I told the people of Chicago that I would never surrender this 
battery, and I'll keep my word," and he leveled his pistol at the Mis- 
sourian. But the lank man was too quick for him, and, throwing up 
his pistol, he fired. Captain Reed fell across his gun, shot through 
the heart. 

"Brave man !" said the boys, as they laid him on the ground pre- 
paratory to removing the gun. "Brave man; it is a pity we had to 
kill him." 

The gun, with its death-mark of life's blood, was drawn away by the 
Confederates, and used in a dozen different battles, but no one ever 
washed off the blood. Once, when an officer asked one of the men 
why he did not wash his gun, the soldier related the circumstance of 
Reed's death. "Let the blood remain, it is a mark of respect to the 
memory of a brave man," was the officer's comment. 

Just before the close of the war "Captain Reed," the name applied 
to the gun, was dismounted by a cannon ball. After the battle the 
soldiers tenderly buried the heavy iron. The rain of heaven nor the 
hands of man had not washed off the blood. 



MORGANS SANG FROID. 
In the early part of the war, when General McCook was advancing 
on Bowling Green, Ky. , as the command was halted for a short time 
one day, a company of cavalry, in the regulation blue uniform of the 
Union Army, was seen a few hundred yards in advance, where they 
halted, and the men dismounted and behaved as men were wont to do 
under such circumstances, while waiting orders. Meanwhile the 
Captain of the cavalry rode around and within the infantry lines for 
several minutes, but without saying anything to any one. Nobody 
paid any attention to him and presently he returned to his company, 
ordered them to mount, and they rode leisurely down the road and out 
of sight. Nothing was thought of the affair till, some time afterward, 
a non-combatant came into General McCook's camp, under a flag of 
truce, bearing a very respectful note, in which the writer said he had just 
made a thorough recbunoisance of his (McCook's) forces, and asked 



42 WAB ANECDOTES 

the exchange of a Louisville Journal for a Lousville Courier, which 
was then published on wheels, and a copy of which was enclosed. The 
note was signed "John Morgan;" and it was he who had commanded 
the mysterious cavalry company seen in the advance a little while 
before. 



A BRUTAL COMMANDER. 

General Geary, who afterward was Governor of Pennsylvania, was 
a good soldier, but a brutal commander. Upon one occasion, when 
the men were not being pushed forward rapidly enough to suit Geary, 
a deep morass stopping their way, he galloped forward in a rage, dis- 
mounted from his horse, seized an officer by the coat collar and delib- 
erately kicked him again and again. The Colonel of the regiment to 
which the officer was attached shortly after galloped up to where 
Geary was standing beneath a tree. Whether he had been sent for, 
or what the first words that passed between them were, nobody knew, 
but Geary said, angrily : "You have the worst set of officers in the 
service." 

"You have no right to treat them so," said the Colonel, who was a 
small, quiet man, who, up to that time, had not been looked upon as 
amounting to much. His face was very white. 

"I'll treat them as I please, and you too, for that matter," bel- 

loAved Geary. 

"If you should ever attempt it," said the Colonel, looking the Gen- 
eral squarely in the eyes, "we will be in need of a new commanding 
officer!" and wheeling his horse, he galloped away without the slightest 
ceremony. "I'll court martial you, sir!" shouted Geary after him, but 
he never did. 

On another occasion Geary took offense at a private in the column, 
for merely giving him a sidelong glance. "Look to the front, how 
dare you !" The man looked rigidly before him, as though made of 
stone. Some diabolical spirit must have possessed Geary, for he sprang 
from his horse and began shaking the man, who still looked straight 
before him without uttering a sound. He was a bad fellow — a good 



INC ID EN TS OF ARMY L IFE 43 

soldier, but wicked. He had been in the navy and feared nothing. 
Finally Geary kicked hini. Then carae a sudden change. The man 
turned sharply about and brought his gun to a "ready." 

"Stand back, you! ,' and the soldier used a most opprobious 

epithet. Go to your place or I'll blow your head off!" Geary's face 
became white as a sheet. The severe words had not caused it, A look 
in the private's face revealed the reason. Death was in his eyes and 
Geary knew that at that moment he stood in the shadow of the dark 
valley. He turned about and went away without saying another 
word. 



FIGHTING AND FORGIVING'. 

A Western soldier told the following of the battle of Lookout 
Mountain : 

"The Confederates, posted high on a mountain, regarded their 
position as impregnable. But when Hooker's command worked its 
way up from Wauhatchie Valley, our brigade swept down on them 
from the rear while they were peering over their breastworks, looking 
for us from the front. There was a tremendous tussle for five minutes, 
but in the end the whole command surrendered. I was a little separ- 
ated from the main body, and at first, before the Confederates sur- 
rendered, I was at a disadvantage. 

"Four or five young fellows in grey had just sat down to have a 
cup of coflfee, and when the Union lines swept forward without firing 
a gun, they sat for a moment stunned. I jumped into the group with 
an exultant war-whoop, and one of them answered my whoop by 
throwing his coffee in my face and sending the cup after it. This 
blinded me and enraged me to such an extent that I jumped at him 
with intent to choke him. We clinched, and I think of all the 
scrambles that ever I had in my life, that was the worst. It was a 
rough-and-tumble bear fight, and we were at it when the Confederates 
threw down their arms. The officers parted us with a good many jokes 
and laughs, and I got up with the resolve that I would lick that fellow 
if I had to die for it. 



44 WAR ANECDOTES 

"But it so happened that our battalion was detailed to take these 
prisoners to Bridgeport, and in the long marches I got well acquainted 
with my antagonist and we became friends. In crossing the pontoon 
bridge at Newport, the prisoners and guards were in great glee and, 
in defiance of orders, they started across at a swinging, measured 
step. The bridge parted, and scores of the prisoners and some of the 
o-uards went into the river. Some of the prisoners were drowned, and 
my old antagonist of Lookout Mountain came pretty near going down 
not to come up. I pulled him out by the hardest work, and when he 
took the train on the other side, b(jund for the military prison at 
Camp Chase, I felt as badly as though I had lost a life-long friend." 



THE EDITORS AWKWARD SALUTE. 
Calvin W. Starbuck was the founder of the Cincinnati Daily Times, 
the weekly edition of which had the largest circulation of any paper 
in the West about the time of the war. Starbuck was wealthy, in- 
fluential and patriotic. When the Ohio National Guard was organized 
in 1863, Starbuck, though too old to be drafted, joined it. Next 
spring his regiment was called into active service, and was stationed at 
Fort McHenry, near Baltimore. One day Starbuck was on guard 
near a sally-port, when General Morris, of the regular army, in charge 
of the post, happened to come in. The veteran editor knew Morris 
by sight as the commandant of the fort and wished to show proper 
respect. But he was far more familiar with political leaders than with 
military movements. He knew it was his duty to "salute," and he 
was extremely anxious to do so properly. Entirely forgetful of the 
military way of doing it, instead of presenting arms he brought his gun 
to "order arms," took off his cap and began bowing most obsequiously. 
Morris was one of the strictest disciplinarians in the army, a regular 
martinet, who had no use for a private soldier except as a machine to 
obey orders. He stared at the soldier editor, who, thinking he must 
somehow be lacking in deference, salaamed lower and lower uutil his 
cap fairly touched the ground and the General could almost see into 
his knapsack. Morris finally recovered himself and rushed off" to 



IN CID ENTS OF ARMY LIFE 45 

Colonel Harris iu a great pet and insisted that "that lunatic" should 
be put under arrest at once. When informed who and what Starbuck 
was, he was somewhat mollified, but still insisted that he should never 
be placed on guard at that sally-port again. As for Starbuck, editor 
and patriot though he was, his soldierly spirit was well nigh broken 
and he did not recover from his mortification for months. 



HOW A HATCHET REPLACED A SWORD. 

When Lee made his advance into Pennsylvania the Thirteenth Ver- 
mont, of Stannard's Brigade in the Army of the Potomac, was doing 
guard duty in the rear. The whole army was making a forced 
march, and when the Thirteenth started to catch up it had to do some 
extra forced marching, and for six days kept at it until it caught up 
with the main body. On this march some of the men in Lieutenant 
Stephen F. Brown's company got out of water, and he left the ranks, 
contrary to Stannard's orders, to fill their canteens. When he returned 
he was oi'dered to give up his sword and was placed under arrest. He 
accepted the situation gracefully, and was still under arrest when the 
battle of Gettysburg began. 

Being under arrest he was not, of course, required to take any part 
in the fighting, but he was not inclined to be technical at such a time. 
He was without a sword, however, but as he was not restrained of his 
liberty he picked up a camj) hatchet and went with his company. The 
Third New Yoi'k Battery was stationed just at the crown of Cemetery 
Hill, where the battle was hottest. Shot and shell from three 
batteries plowed the ground up all around them, and the part of the 
Eleventh Corps which had been assigned to their support gave way. 
The Thirteenth Vermont was sent to take its place. It had not been 
in position long before one of the guns in the Ncav York battery sud- 
denly became silent. Hatchet in hand, Brown went back to see what 
the matter was. It was easy to discover. Every man had been killed 
but two, and these stood with arms folded beside the silent gun, calmly 
waiting for whatever might happen, and the rain of shot and shell 
from three directions which was tearing up the ground all about them 



46 WAR ANECDOTES 

indicated that they would not have long to wait. One of the grim 
gunners explained that the Confederate fire was so hot that they dare 
not keep their caissons near the guns for fear the enemy would ex- 
plode them. They had been left just back of the hill, and the men 
who had been bringing up the ammunition had all been killed or so 
severely wounded that they were helpless. Brown quickly got three 
volunteers from his company and came to their assistance. Two of 
them went over the hill to the caisson and brought the shell and pow- 
der part way up, where Brown and another carried it to the two help- 
less gunners and their gun. The latter received them with joy and 
went to their work again with a will. "They have been acting so 
over there that we can't keep house with them !" said one of the two, 
as he turned his gun on the massed forces of Pickett's Divi?ion, "but 
now we shall get along better, I guess," he added, as he sent the first 
shell plowing through the ranks. And so the four impromptu artiller- 
ists kept at it until Pickett's immortal charge was beaten sullenly back. 
Had it succeeded the history of the war would have been changed. 
But for Brown having been under arrest and thereby left as a sort 
of freelance in the fight, Meade would have been short one gun at the 
most critical period of that decisive fight. 

After this episode had ended Brown resumed his hatchet and they 
went through the most of the fight together. He kept it until, in one 
of the many hand-to-hand conflicts of the battle, he got a Confederate 
Major at a disadvantage with it and took away his sword and pistol, 
thus literally winning back the sword that had been taken from him at 
his arrest, a proceeding which, it need hardly be said, was never men- 
tioned again when Stannard heard of Brown's exploits with the 
prosaic camp hatchet. 



AN IRISHMAN'S CHARMED LIFE. 

The Confederate General D. H. Hill told the following incident 
which happened during McClellan's "change of base" before Rich- 
mond : 

"We had taken one prisoner, a drunken Irishman, but he declined 



IN OID ENTS OF ARMY LIFE 47 

the honor of going back with us, and made fight with his naked fists. 
A soldier asked me naively whether he should shoot the Irishman or 
let him go. I am glad that I told him to let the man go, to be a com- 
fort to his family. That Irishman must have had a charmed life. He 
was under the shelter of his gum-cloth coat hung on a stick, near the 
ford, when a citizen fired at him four times, from a distance of about 
fifty paces ; and the only recognition that I could see the man make was 
to raise his hand as if to brush off a fly." 



SHERIDAN'S COMPLIMENT ON EMORY. 
When Sheridan arrived on the battle-field of Cedar Creek, after 
that historic ride "from Winchester, twenty miles away," he found 
General Emory ready to renew the fight which up to that time had 
been against him. Sheridan was quick to seize upon the situation, 
and he directed Emory to take a certain position and hold it against 
all odds until he should hear Sheridan's guns at a certain point. 
Emory promptly obeyed, and soon the battle raged again with the 
utmost fury. The Confederates made assault after assault, but Emory 
held his place. Time and again he sent, urgently asking for I'ein- 
forcements, but Sheridan sent word back to hold on a little longer. 
He did hold on until Sheridan collected the shattered forces and 
charged like a thunderbolt, and Early and his army were routed. 
That evening, as Emory was sitting upon the ground, blackened by 
powder and exhausted by the toils of the day, for he had been fight- 
ing for seven hours, one of Sheridan's staflTofiicers rode up, and, salut- 
ing him, said : " General Emory, I am instructed by General Sheri- 
dan to present to you his compliments, and to say that he regards 

you as a regular old stock buzzard ; that you are a glorious old 

fighter." This unique statement of the stafi" officer was received with 
shouts by those who surrounded Emory. It appeared afterward that 
the officer had given literally to Emory the words of his chief. The 
unique compliment was all the more comical because of the fact that 
Emory had been a dignified professor at West Point Academy when 
Sheridan was a cadet there, and barely pulled through because he 



48 WAR ANECDOTES 

was such a fighter that one professor urged the curious argument in 
his favor that the demerits agaiust the fiery jouug Irishman should 
not be counted to prevent him from entering the profession of fighting. 



THE ARMY NEWS-GATHERERS. 

In all the armies in the war there was, among the volunteers, a 
system of gathering and distributing news that beat the information 
received from division and corps headquarters, both in time and ac- 
curacy. In every regiment Avere intelligent men who burned with 
curiosity to know the movements and the mishaps of the army. 
They were, without knowing it, born newspaper men, with a "nose 
for news " quite equal to that of any reporter or army correspondent. 
It was sometimes a matter of amazement among observing soldiers to 
note how quickly news traveled from one end of the army to the 
other, and even from one side to the other. The death of Albert 
Sidney Johnston was known among the Union soldiers at Shiloh 
within an hour. That came, in all probability, from prisoners. But 
it is a fact that the Union soldiers knew it fully as soon as John- 
ston's own men. Accurate news of an engagement on one evening, 
together with the names of regiments and Generals on the other 
side, was not infrequently discussed by the men on the other wing- 
within an hour. Stragglers were invariably news-gatherer. They 
would get oS" to one side and see things impossible to the men who 
were doing the fighing under a cloud of smoke that hugged the 
ground ten feet in front of their guns and shut out all view while the 
firing lasted. The stragglers of one regiment would pass the news to 
the stragglers of the next, whose restless feet and tongues bore it 
quickly on, like an electric current passing through a long chain of 
men hand-in -hand. 

But it was after night that the news-gatherers mostly flourished. 
They walked through the camps long after their comrades were asleep 
to meet other soldiers and gather intelligence, discuss the campaign 
and their Generals with merciless criticism that was more often right 
than wrong. They had a burning desire to know how the other 



INGID EN TS F ARMY LIFE 49 

commands fared and to gather information so as to correctly judge of 
the battle's tide and the chances for the morrow. Often as men lin- 
gered long around a camp-fire they saw shadowy forms hurrying rap- 
idly through the woods, or along the roads, on these errands for in- 
formation. Frequently they would halt, sit down, fill their pipes for 
a brief smoke, and then with rifles across their knees — for these re- 
porters invariably carried their entire equipment with them for fear of 
loss in case a sudden movement set their own camp in motion — they 
would briefly tell the news of their own corps, and, with keen, direct 
questions, gather the news at that point before resuming their restless 
tramp. It was always a point of honor to tell the exact truth on 
such occasions for mutual advantage. 

It was a singular fact, noticed by all, that these news-gatherers were 
almost invariably native Americans or else Irishmen. Another and 
seemingly incongruous truth was that these natural-born soldiers and 
most intelligent men would bear close watching. One and all of 
them would steal haversacks of food upon any and all occasions pos- 
sible, and invariably combined predatory raids on other men's prop- 
erty with their news-gathering trips. It was not that they were born 
thieves, but they had learned by long experience that the thing most 
necessary to the soldier, after his gun and ammunition, was food. 
That they made it a point to always secure, confident that they would 
never gel too much. Besides, to rob a soldier was to rob a man who 
might be killed the next day, and who consequently would no longer 
need a haversack or three days' rations. 



THE BOYS WERE TIRED. 
When Colonel Webster's Massachusetts regiment reached Warren- 
ton, Va., in their first advance with the Army of the Potomac, it was 
after a long, tiresome march and the men were very hungry. Their 
haversacks were empty and their teams were far behind. So some of 
the boys started out to forage. Webster sat in front of his tent 
quietly smoking, when a citizen rode up and excitedly exclaimed : 
''Colonel, some of your men are down in my pasture chasing my 



50 WAR ANECDOTES 

sheep." "Is that so?" inquired the Colonel. "Are you sure they 
are my men?" "Yes," said the Virginian, "they are your men." 
" Well," said Colonel Webster, with a deep sigh, " if they are my 
men you need have no fear. The b<jys have had a long march and 
they are very tired. I don't believe they can catch them." And 
that was all the consolation he got. 



DISSEMINATING INFORMATION. 
While General Heine was in command of the short line at Bermuda 
Hundred, on the James River, during the siege of Petersburg, in the 
winter of 1864-5, President Lincoln issued his famous order encourag- 
ing desertions from the Confederate Army, allowing a bonus of $7 or 
$8 to each soldier who would bring his arms with him. Entire groups 
came across the lines under that stimulus, taking the night-time for 
their escape. The chief difficulty was to make the Confederate rank 
and file acquainted with the President's promises. General Heine in 
vented a novel means of accomplishing this. The proclamation was 
printed on slips or "dodgers," about eight or ten inches long and five 
inches wide, a thing easily done on the little printing presses always at- 
tached to division or corps headquarters. Common paper kites, such as 
boys make for amusement, were constructed. The kite tails were made up 
in clumps of these slips on which the proclaniation was printed, and 
knotted at intervals in bunches. A piece of common safety fuse 
six or seven inches long was tied to the lower or pointed end of the 
kite, leaving an unattached extension of the fuse of several inches. 
The tail twine was then tied to the fuse near the common intersection, 
and in that way the kites were completed. Breezes were watched for 
at night which bore in the direction of the Confederate lines ; the fuse 
was lit at the detached end, and the kite sent up and wafted over the 
Confederate camps ; and in a short time the fire of the burning fuse 
i-eached the twine of the kite tail and the proclamations fell inside the 
Confederate lines. It had considerable effect in inducing desertions, 
especially with tired soldiers who had been feeding on the coarsest kind 
of corn bread, and not abundantly supplied with that, with scarcely 



INCIDEN TS OF ARMY L IFF 51 

any meat, no coffee and sugar, and scant supplies of salt, though coffee 
and sugar were surreptitiously exchanged with the Union pickets for 
Richmond and Charleston papers. 



THE SPRING A T ANDERSONVILLE. 
Pure water was a thing very hard to get in the prison camp at 
Andersonville. The prisoners were dependent for water, except for 
the scanty supply in the wells, upon the lazy stream that flowed just 
beside the Confederate camp, and their struggles for it over and 
around the little foot bridge, where it emptied into the swamp, were 
sometimes long, bitter and severe. At a time when they suffered the 
most, on a hot evening in August, there came up a terrible thunder 
shower, lasting forty minutes. During its continuance a spring, sub- 
sequently named Providence spring, burst forth and discovered itself 
With great rapidity the news of its appearance flew over the whole 
camp, and there was a mad throng to get at the fresh, wholesome, 
pure water boiling up in inexhaustible quantities through the white 
sand. It gave beautiful water, as pure and sweet as was ever tasted, and 
it is said that during the whole subsequent continuance of the prison 
camp, the spring remained perfectly clear and cool, with a supply up 
to which the demand never rose. It still exists, in a little hollow 
scooped out of the slope, somewhat shaded by holly bushes bearing 
their red berries. At its back an old stump has, by the gradual wear- 
ing away of the earth, become entirely uncovered, and with its his- 
tory the spot becomes one of the most romantic and at the same time 
one of the most sacred in the country. Its beautiful story has been 
told thousands of times by men who drank its pellucid waters while 
inmates of the prison pen and took a new lease of life with the re- 
freshing draught. But the stories of its alleged miraculous origin 
are disproved by the following matter-of-fact statement by Mr. M. P. 
Suber, the railroad agent at Andersonville station, who has lived in 
the neighborhood for over forty years, and filled the same office during 
the Avar, seeing all the prisoners and guards who came and went 
during that time. He says : 



52 WAR ANECDOTES 

" Yes, it was a little queer about that spring that they called 
Providence, but there's alius been a spring there or thereabouts. If 
there hadn't been one, how could it 'a broken out? Right there, or a 
little below it, say twenty or twenty-five feet, was a deer-lick, years 
ago. The old settlers here used to lay about there to shoot the deer 
when they came up to drink. There used to be quite a basin there, 
where the water bubbled up out of the white sand just as it does 
now. They could catch little fish there, perch, and that kind. Little 
bits of fellows you know. Just after the stockade was built, there 
came up an awful storm and the sand washed down from the banks 
and just covered up the basin, spring and all. The whole thing dis- 
appeared like in the earth, and there was no more sign of a spring 
than there is in the palm of my hand ! Well, in the late summer 
came the other storm, and the spring again discovered itself, provi- 
dential-like, twenty or twenty-five feet above. It was rather queer, 
but it's so, and the spring couldn't have come there if it had not been 
there ! " 



THE ORIGIN OF POSTAL CURRENCY. 
Postal currency, which was the "change" during the war and until 
the resumption of specie payments, was the invention of General 
Spinner, who had been appointed treasurer of the United States by 
President Lincoln. Small change had vanished, and in buying a din- 
ner in the market, change had to be taken in beets, cabbages, potatoes 
and what not. General Spinner was constantly appealed to from all 
quarters to do something to supply the demand for small change. He 
had no law under which he could act, but, after buying a half dollar s 
worth of apples several times and receiving for his half dollar in change 
more or less different kinds of produce, he began to cast around for a 
substitute for small change. In his dilemma he bethought himself of 
the postage stamps. He sent down to the post-office department and 
purchased a quantity of stamps. He then ordered up a package of 
the paper upon which government securities were printed. He cut the 
paper into various sizes. On the pieces he pasted stamps to represent dif- 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 53 

ferent amounts. He thus initiated a substitute for fractional silver. 
This was not, however, a government transaction in any sense ; it could 
not be. General Spinner distributed his improvised currency among the 
department. They took it readily, and the trade folks more readily. 
The idea spread ; the postage stamps, either detached or pasted upon a 
piece of paper, became the medium of small change. It was dubbed 
"postal currency." From this General Spinner got his idea of the 
fractional currency, and went before Congress with it. That body 
readily adopted it, and but a short time after General Spinner had be- 
gun pasting operations, a law was on the statute book providing for 
the issue of the fractional currency which became so popular. The 
fac-simile of postage stamps was put on each piece of currency, and 
for a long time it was known as "postal currency." An enormous 
amount was never presented for redemption, and the Government was 
consequently the gainer. 



A FEARFUL RIDE. 
In May, 1863, Breckenridge's division, then serving with Bragg, in 
Tennessee, was ordered to Mississippi, to reinforce General Joseph E. 
Jonnston. On the afternoon of the 25th, about 1,000 men boardeda 
long train of freight cars at Wartrace and started. By the time they 
had reached the summit of the Cumberland mountains it was night. 
The conductor had told them that but one car on the train had brakes, 
and that when the descent of the mountain was commenced they 
might expect a lively shaking up and a " merry ride," so that quick 
time was anticipated. But when the descent Avas begun, just after 
passing through the tunnel at Cowman, the engineer, miscalculating 
the weight of the train, did not reverse his engine as soon as he should 
have done, and it began running at a fearful rate, almost as soon as 
it emerged from the darkness of the tunnel into the moonlight. The 
engineer whistled " down brakes," and with the energy of desperation 
the men on the only car equipped with a brake tried to obey. A 
piece of timber was interlocked in the brake-wheel and it was 
wrenched with all the strength of several men, but without effect. 



54 WAR ANECDOTES 

The speed kept increasing. There were seven miles of down grade, 
the track was in bad repair and wound through mountain gorges most 
of the Avay. The train was composed of old and rickety cars. Every 
man was keenly alive to the perils of the situation. The engineer 
was an old and experienced one, whose wits never deserted him. 
Finding he could do nothing to check the momentarily increasing 
speed, he did what a less experienced man would not have dared do ; 
he put on steam to keep the train extended as much as possible, and 
keep the rear cars from crowding those in front from the track. Then 
he shut his eyes, breathed a momentary prayer, set his face resolutely 
to the front and waited ! 

What a terrific ride it was ! How the trees and rocks seemed to 
dance by the train ! At one moment it would dash through a cut, 
where on either side rose walls of ragged rock which almost touched 
the cars. Then it would whiz over a yawning chasm that seemed to 
be crossed by a flying leap, so rapidly was it done. Then it would 
hug the side of the mountain so closely that the trees above would 
seem to push at the train, while those far below would reach up their 
long arms as if beckoning the men down to their death. The chasms 
seemed great yawning mouths to receive them ; the jagged rocks mon- 
ster teeth to grind them to pieces. All the possibilities of the fearful 
situation were thrillingly manifest to those of the men who occupied 
the tops of the cars, which were as full as safety would allow. Those 
inside were spared seeing the dangers, but found its unseen horrors 
quite as great to bear. From the heated journals and the chafing 
trucks came streams of sparks, which spread out along the track be- 
hind the train. In broad sheets of fire thus enveloped in flames, and 
shrieking and thundering along, the train swept down the long de- 
scent of the mountain into the valley, where it presently came to a 
standstill, and the relieved men took a new lease of the life that 
seemed worth so little but a few minutes before. If the word of the 
engineer is reliable, it was one of the most remarkable runs on 
record, for he declares the seven miles were made in something less 
than five minutes. 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 55 

Just as those on board had begun to congratulate themselves on 
their narrow escape, word was passed forward that the rear car was 
missing and no one knew where it had left the train. The horror- 
stricken passengers at once organized a searching party, with many 
misgivings, since it seemed impossible that any one on the car had es- 
caped death. It was found just a little way back, overturned, and 
the occupants busily picking themselves out of the debris. Strangely 
enough, though most of them were badly bruised no one was killed, 
or even seriously hurt, though one man was thrown over the telegraph 
wires by the concussion. 



.4 SHORT, BUT GRIM PROBATION. 

General J. E. B. Stuart, of the Confederate Array, was a blunt, 

practical man. During one of the early campaigns a German officer 

tendered his services to hiin by direction. He afterward thus narrated 

his reception in the field : "I come to General Stuart, and he tell me, 

'Major von , I have more foreigners I know what to do with ; 

they are all sent to me — ^are no accout. I have no place on my staff 
for you. Stop — there is a regiment about to charge. Charge with it.' 
I charge with the regiment, and when I come back General Stuart 
say : 'Major von , I keep you with me on my staff.'" 



A FRIEND IN AN ENEMY. 
During the war the Luray and Shenandoah valleys were alternately 
in possession of the Union and the Confederate forces. In the former 
lived the mother of one of Lee's scouts, quite alone, her second sou, a 
boy of fifteen, having died in the second year of the war. The scout, 
in the summer of 1864, was sent with dispatches to Early, and given 
permission to visit his mother in the Luray Valley. He reached the 
neighborhood of his childhood's home in the evening, and heard from 
an old neighbor that a squad of foragers and "bummers," apparently 
from Sheridan's array, had passed up the road only a little in advance 
of him, robbing houses and shooting stock in juire wantonness. The 
rest of his adventures is best told in his own words : 



56 WAR ANECDOTES 

"Half a mile from home I heard the crack of carbines and revolv, 
ers, but I was so badly done fur that I could go no faster. When I 
finally did reach the gate I found two dead horses lying beside the 
fence. As I entered the yard I stumbled over a dead man. Half way 
to the door was a second, and almost on the doorstep was a third. The 
door was shut and the house dark, but the first thing I knew there Avas 
a blaze of light, and a bullet passed through my hat not an inch above 
my head. 

"I dropped to the ground mighty fast, and I did a heap o' thinkin 
fur the next three minutes. At the end of that I called out : 

"'Hello! the house! Hello! Mother!' I heard a move inside 
right away, with the sound of voices, and when I had called ag'in my 
blessed old mother .sang out : 

" 'Praise God ! but is that my son John ?' 

"'Aye, mother, it's me!' 

"What do you reckon I saw as I looked around? No more nor less 
than a Yank in full uniform, sittin' on a chair in front of the winder, 
revolver in hand, head bound up, face white but full o' grit, and one 
leg useless with a bullet in it. 

"It took me some little time to untangle the skein. It seems that 
the Yank was a scout. He had stopped at the house fur a bite to eat, 
and when the raiders came in and began to cuss and threaten, and lay 
violent hands on my old mother, he gits up and orders 'em out. That 
brings on a fight, and he jist dropped three of 'em as dead as crowbars 
and killed two of the bosses. The rest of the gamg didn't want any 
more of that and got out. Afraid they would return to play him some 
trick, that plucky Yank, all wounded and bleeding as he was, insist 
on standing sentinel at the winder, and it was him who mistook me 
fur one of the raiders and sent a bullet fur my head. 

"You kin imagine my astonishment, indignation and gratitude. In 
an hour we had him comfortably fixed up, and during the rest of the 
night I stood sentinel without bein' disturbed. 

"Next morning who should come ridin' up but a squad of Early's 
men. They buried the corpses and I gin them all the particklers, and 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 57 

what did they do but demand the scout. There he was, painfully hurt 
and helpless as a child, but they were going to take him away as a 
prisoner. Did they ? Well, not much ! There were seven of 'em, but 
I had a Winchester and two revolvers, and they hadn't the sand to 
face 'em. 

"Howsomever, they rode away to git more help, and I realized that I 
must make'some other arrangements to keep the Yank out o' their hands. 
He was jist as cool and nervy as an old veteran, and it didn't take long 
to fix up a plan. I had the back door off in a jiffy, and we laid him 
on it and propped him up as well as well we could. Then mother 
and I picked him up and toted him fur half a mile up the side of the 
mountain and left him in a cave. We fixed him a comfortable bed, 
left food and drink at hand and were back at the house before the 
soldiers came. There was a hull company this time, and there was a 
high old time fur a while. They took me prisoner and carried me off ' 
to Early's headquarters, but they couldn't find the scout. 

"I was held prisoner for two weeks, and they tried hard to make out 
some sort of a case agin me, but finally I was released and sent back 
to Lee. This left mother alone to care for the scout, but he was not 
neglected. They sot spies to watch her, and they scouted the neighbor- 
liood fur days, but they had their trouble fur their pains. It was nigh 
on to ten weeks afore that Yank got well 'nufl^ to walk off to his lines, 
but he got there safely, and from that time on mother was protected 
by Sheridan and the pantry kept supplied by his quartermaster." 



FIGHTING FOR A MULE TAIL. 

It was not often that the soldiers of either army actually suflfered 
from hunger for any considerable length of time. But the Union 
forces that were shut up in and around Chattanooga before the battle 
of Lookout Mountain gave them relief, did suflfer, and for a long 
time. One soldier who was stationed on Stringer Ridge, opposite 
Lookout Mountain, says he was hungry for three months ; not for a 
moment of which time was he not anxious for something to eat. They 
had three small crackers a day, what corn they coidd steal from the 



58 WAR ANECDOTES 

starving mules, and a few half-ripe persimmons. One day word was 
brought to camp that a mule had mired in the mud on the Raccoon 
mountain road, and had been killed. He and a number of others 
started in search of the carcass, with visions of mule steak before their 
eyes. On their arrival they found fully 200 men there who had come 
on the same errand. Of the mule there were only the hoofs left. Two 
members of the "Hundred and Dutch" (One Hundred and Eighth 
Ohio) Regiment had just finished a hotly contested fight for the tail. 
While they were fighting, it was stolen, leaving them only their black 
eyes and bloody noses as the result of their battle. 



TOM BLACK'S SURRENDER. 
Tom Black Avas a long, lank, cadaverous Confederate from the pine 
lands of Georgia, who had never been twenty miles from home till 
the fortunes of war took him into Virginia and brought him into the 
line opposed to the Army of the Potomac. His gun carried an ounce 
ball and the boys called it the "mountain howitzer." Wonderful 
were the stories he told ot killing "varmints sich as painters and the 
like," at a quarter of a mile range. There was a great curiosity to 
catch sight of the Yankees, just to see Tom slay them at long taw. 
"Oh, you better believe, old Bet never flickers; just show me one." 
Pretty soon Tom was put oq picket. The place was lonely enough in 
the day time, but at midnight, Avhen it was so still one could almost 
hear the stars in their courses, and when, under the cover of darkness, 
wild beasts came from their lairs and assassins crouched and watched 
for their victims, the loneliness Avas aAA'ful. The Yankees Avere said 
to be five miles off, but it Avas not long before Tom was couAnnced they 
were sneaking upon him. The fall of CA'ery leaf Avas but the cat-like 
step of a murderous foe. Presently there Avas a rumbling sound of 
human feet among the leaves. The sound grcAV louder, as if the 
enemy was plainly no longer trying to conceal his presence. Tom's 
hair began to rise. He kncAV he must not desert his post, and yet he 
was not ready to die right there, in the stillness of the night, under 
the stars and so far from home. At last only one small bush stood 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 59 

between them. The enemy came leisurely along, passed the bush, 
and, discovering Tom, stood still. "Don't shoot," cried Tom, in 
agony, "I surrender !" and threw down his gun. The foe gave vent 
to a loud guttural "Ouf !" The moon came out from behind a cloud 
and Tom saw a very big, but a thoroughly peaceable hog, after acorns! 



WHAT LEE SURRENDERED. 

General M. R. Morgan, who was Grant's Chief Commissary at the time 
of Lee's surrender, wrote to the Baltimore Sun the following account 
of the feeding of the surrendered army : 

"lu the course of the proceedings General Lee asked General Grant 
to have his army fed, and the latter turned to me (his Chief Commis- 
sar}^), and instructed me to feed General Lee's army in the manner re- 
lated in the accompanying copy of a letter written by me to General 
Badeau. The following are extracts from the letter thus referred to : 

"After the terms for the surrender of Lee's army had been arranged 
(April 9, 1865), General Lee asked General Grant to have rations is- 
sued to his army. General Grant, turning to me, said : 'Colonel, 
feed General Lee's army.' I asked, 'How many men have they?' 
General Grant repeated my question, addressing General Lee. Gen- 
eral Lee went into an explanation to show why he could not tell the 
number of his men. He said : 'I have not a complete organization in 
my army. * * * Many companies are commanded by non-com- 
missioned officers. The books are lost.' When he got thus far, I said, 
suggestively, 'Say 25,000 men.' General Lee said : 'Yes, 25,000.' 
I went from the room at once, and meeting General M. P. Small, 
Chief Commissary of General Ord's army, asked him if he could 
spare three days' rations (I think it was three days) of beef, salt and 
bread for the Army of Northern Virginia, numbering 25,000 men. 
He said : 'I guess I can.' I was not at all certain that he could do it, 
because we had been doing some lively marching, and I doubted if the 
provision trains and herd were up with the troops. But Small was 
equal to the emergency, and I told him to serve the rations. 

"We started back to City Point the afternoon of the next day, 



60 M^-4iJ ANECDOTES 

April 10, :iu(l I did not take luucli more interest in the muubei* of men 
that constituted the Army of Northern Virginia. 

"I have since learned that the number of men of that army, paroled 
at that time, officers and men, was 26,115, divided as follows, viz. : 

"Cavalry Corps — Officers, 213; nien, 1,501. 

"Artillery Corps — Officers, '2'M : men, 2,797. 

"Longstreet's Corps — Officers, 1,527 ; men, 13,333. 

"Gordon'sCorps— Officers, 674; men, 5,833. 

"Totals— Officers, 2,651 ; men, 23,464. 

"You may be certain that this is correct. 

"You may remember that Fitz Lee went off with his cavalry, and 
that General Lee sent out after him to come in and surrender. He 
came in, I think, after we left." 



WHY JACKSON WAS BE AVE. 

General Imboden relates the following of General "Stonewall" 
Jackson as occuring shortly after the first Bull Run, in which Jackson 
had received a slight wound in the hand : 

"Of course, the battle was the only topic discussed at breakfast. I 
remarked in Mrs. Jackson's hearing, 'General, how is it that you can 
keep so cool, and appear so utterly in.sensible to danger in such a storm 
of shell and bullets as rained about you when your hand was hit ?' He 
instantly became grave and reverential in his manner, and answered 
in a low tone of great earnestness : 'Captain, my religious belief 
teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time 
for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always 
ready, no matter when it may overtake me.' He added, after a pause, 
looking me full in the face : 'Captain, that is the way all men should 
live, and then all men would be equally brave.'" 



^iV^ UNAPPRECIATED REWARD. 
General Shields, of whom it was said that he was the only man who 
ever defeated "Stonewall" Jackson, was a born soldier, and never so 
gay as when surrounded by difficulties or prospects of fighting. He 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 61 

had a cheery luauuer that wou the hearts of his men, and uo Gen- 
eral on either side liad a better knack of marching troops rapidly 
and incessantly with so little comparative fatigue and little or no 
straggling. He was full of drollery and was fond of trotting along 
beside the column on the march and making dry remarks on some 
man or group of men that happened for the moment to intex'est him 
or to attract his vigilant grey eye. Once after a slight but brilliant 
skirmish he congratulated the regiment that had borne the chief part 
and ended his little speech with "You've done w^ell, boys; I'll give 
you a little more marching!" words which remained as a cant phrase 
among those men long afterward — long after Shield's time— in the 
midst of hard forced marches when fatigue had driven some of the 
men almost to the verge of despair. 



THE TELEGRAPH IN THE WAR. 

During the war the Military Telegraph Corps, consisting of about 
1,200 operators and a sufficient force of linemen, built and operated 
15,389 miles of telegraph lines exclusively devoted to military pur- 
poses. In addition many lines of commercial companies were tem- 
porarily, from time to time, made use of by the government. When 
McClellan sat before Yorktown the wires became his trusty sentinel. 
It was at this place that a Avell-known operator, Mr. Lathrop, was 
killed by a torpedo. The wires followed McClellan into the wilder- 
ness, and threading the forests and swamps of the Chickahominy, by 
day and night, kept him advised of events, and made known at 
Washington by frequent daily telegrams his hopes, his fears and his 
wants. Here the field telegraph was first practically tested for tacti- 
cal purposes, and here at Gaines' Mills it saved the Union army from 
utter rout. From Harrison's Landing it maintained communication 
with the North until the army went to reinforce Pope. It followed 
McDowell's co-operating force to Fredericksburg ; Banks, up the 
Shenandoah, and Fremont in the Alleghenies, and enabled them to 
co-operate to drive Jackson out of the valley and protect Pennsyl- 
vania and Washington. It followed General Cox to Gauley Bridge, 



62 WAR ANECDOTES 

W. Va., aud via Raleigh to Princeton, and it brought General Mor- 
gan, operating against Cumberland Gap, Ky., into the telegraphic 
union, and soon kept that Sebastopol of America in communication 
with Buell at Shiloh, via Lebanon Junction, Ky. , and Nashville, and 
announced the defeat of Beauregard's army. 

It followed Foote to Fort Henry, and Grant to Donelson, whence 
it was extended, making two routes to Nashville. The corps quickly 
gladdened the Union people with Mitchell's wonderful successes in 
Northern Alabama and enabled him to capture valuable railroad 
trains by false telegrams transmitted over Confederate wires, by 
means of which eighty-four miles of the Memphis & Charleston Railroad 
were captured in a few hours, and the Corinth & Chattanooga men- 
aced. It Avas by the use of the telegraph that Grant at Jackson sub- 
sequently overlooked affairs in his department, prepared Rosccrans 
for his splendid defense of Corinth, and brought Ord to Bolivar to 
co-operate with McPhersou from Jackson in the pursuit of Van 
Dorn's defeated army. Even Curtis, at Pea Ridge, Ark., was but a 
few miles from the telegraph builders, who were rushing their work 
with the greatest rapidity while he was fighting a battle. After 
completing this line, that from St. Louis to Pilot Knob, Mo., was ex- 
tended over 200 miles to Batesville, Ark., Curtis' new base. Thus 
all along the armed front sped the electric tongue. Over 4,000 miles 
of military telegraph were in operation, embracing parts of the States 
of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, Vir- 
ginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, 
and soon after also North Carolina, Louisiana and the Indian Territory. 

Of the telegraph corps it is known that of the entire number 199 
were either killed, died of disease, or were captured while in the line 
of duty. It is estimated that more than 100 others suffered from the 
casualties of the service. The fact that at least twelve members of 
the corps were killed by the enemy; that probably fifty died in the 
service; that not less than ten were wounded and fully 200 captured, 
attest, beyond question, the danger incident to service in the military 
elegraph corps of the Union army in the war. 



INC ID E N TS (J F A R M Y L i FE 63 

One of the operators who remained at his office in Winchester, Va., 
until the retreating Union soldiers had nearly all left, was himself 
about quitting, when he received a telegram from the commander for 
Harper's Ferry, calling for reinforcement. His stay to transmit that 
dispatch resulted in his capture and imprisonment tn Libby Prison. 

It is believed that General Porter was saved from defeat by the 
bravery of an operator, who connected his instrument with the field- 
line during the battle of Gaines' Mill, and with only a tree to shelter 
him from the storm of bullets and shells, sent and received many dis- 
patches, whereby General McClellan was enabled to re-enforce General 
Porter most opportunely. Several of the operator's orderlies were 
shot, and messages had to be sent by two or three messengers to insure 
delivery. 

In 1880 General G. K. Warren wrote: "I often talk with those 
who were with me of the operator who, in the first of our attacks on 
Petersburg, brought his wire to the front under musket range of the 
enemy and operated it behind a tree that proved to be hollow, and 
which any of the cannon shot, which were at close range and flying 
fast, would have gone clear through with little loss of force; and, 
again, of the one on the Weldon Railroad on the Sunday morning we 
were shelled out of it, both from the north and west, and who worked 
his recorder in a southeast angle, and outside under the musket fire 
that, by its sound so near and the pattering of the balls around, con- 
fused the records of his sounder, and many others on other occasions. 
So I have always felt a great deal of admiration for their heroism." 



HOW LYTLE QUELLED A MUTINY. 

"William H. Lytle, the author of the poem, 'The Death of 
Antony,' that begins, 'I am Dying, Egypt, Dying," was the man for 
mutineers," writes an ex-officer of artillery. "At one time during 
the Avar I was sent under his command with several pieces of light 
artillery, among them two or three howitzers, in a brigade that went 
out on a raid some place near Shelbyville, in Tennessee. When we 
started out the wagons were used to carry the soldiers' knapsacks, etc, 



64 WAR ANECDOTtJS 

and when we had gathered together what forage we wanted the 
wagons had to be used to carry it. Of course the soldiers then had to 
carry their baggage, and when the order was given to do this one 
regiment refused. Lytle marched the men over to where the knapsacks 
were and again ordered the men to take them up. Again they re- 
fused. I was stationed on a little eminence a short distance away, and 
presently here came Colonel Lytle galloping over to me with his sabre 
out and his eyes flashing. 

" 'Captain Edgarton,' said he, 'will you let me have those howit 
zers ?' 

" 'Certainly,' I answered, and gave orders for the guns to move. 

"Coming over right in front of the mutineers, Colonel Lytle gave 
the order, 'Attention ! Load with canister ! Take aim !' — and then in 
an undertone bidding the gunners await in readiness the word 'fire,' 

spoke to the mutineers, saying : 'You , take up 

your knapsacks, or, by God, I'll wipe you off the face of the earth !' 
Not a man in the regiment moved, and Lytle waited fully a minute. 
" 'Now, d-n you,' said Lytle, 'I'll give you one minute to pick up 
those knapsacks!' Slowly, first one and then another, and then a third 
picked up his knapsack, and before the minute was up there was not 
a piece of baggage on the ground." 



SHERMAN AND THE PLANTER. 

At an army reunion some years after the war General Sherman told 
the following : 

"I, remember one day away down in Georgia, sonewhere between, I 
think, Milledgeville and Milan, I was riding on a good horse and had 
some friends along with me to keep good fellowship, you know. 
[Laughter.] A pretty humorous party, clever good fellows. [Re- 
newed laughter.] Riding along I spied a plantation. I was thirsty, 
rode up to the gate and dismounted. One of these men with sabers 
by their side, called orderlies, stood by my horse. I walked up on the 
porch, where there was an old gentleman, probably sixty years of age, 
white-haired and very gentle in his manners — evidently a planter of 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 65 

the higher class. I asked him if he woukl be kind enough to give me 
some water. He called a boy, and soon he had a bucket of water with a 
dipjier. I then asked for a chair, and called one or two of my officers. 
I got into conversation ; and the troops drifted along, passing down 
the roadway closely by fours, and every regiment had its 
banner, regimental or national, sometimes furled and sometimes 
afloat. The old gentleman says: 'General, what troops are those 
passing now ?' 

"As the color-bearer came by I said : 'Throw out your colors. That 
is the Seventy-third Iowa.' 

"'The Seventy-third Iowa! Seventy-third Iowa! Iowa! Seventy- 
third ! What do you mean by Seventy-third ?' 

" 'Well,' said I, 'habitually a regiment when organized amounts to 
1,000 men.' 

" 'Do you pretend to say that Iowa has sent 73,000 men into this 
cruel civil war ?' [Laughter.] 

" 'Why, my friend, I think that may be inferred.' 

" 'Well,' says he, 'where 's Iowa '?' [Laughter.] 

" 'Iowa is a State bounded on the east by the Mississippi, on the 
south by Missouri, on the west by an unknown country, and on the 
north by the North Pole.' 

" 'Well,' says he, '73,000 men from Iowa? You must have a 
million men.' 

"Says I : 'I think about that.' 

"Presently another regiment came along 

" 'What may that be?' 

"I called out to the color-bearer : 'Throw out your colors and let us 
see,' and it was the Seventeenth or Nineteenth — I have forgotten 
which — Wisconsin. 

" 'Wisconsin ! Northwest Territory! Wisconsin ! Is it spelled with 
an O or a W ?' 

" 'Why, we spell it now with a W. It used to be spelled 
"Owis." 

" 'The Seventeenth ! that makes 17,000 men ?' 



66 WAR ANECDOTES 

" 'Yes, I thiuk there are a good many more men than that. Wis- 
consin has sent about 30,000 men into the war.' 

"Then again came along another regiment from Minnesota. 

"'Minnesota! My God ! where is Minnesota ? [Laughter.] Min- 
nesota !' 

" 'Minnesota is away up on the sources of the Mississippi River, a 
beautiful territory, too, by the way — a beautiful State.' 

'"A State?' 

" 'Yes, has Senators in Congress, good ones, too. They're very fine 
men — very fine troops.' 

" 'How many men has she sent to this cruel war?' 

" 'Well, I don'texactly know ; somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 
men jirobably. Don't make any difference — all we want. '[Laughter.] 

" 'Well,' says he, 'now we must have been a set of fools to throw 
down the gauge of battle to a country we don't know the geography 
of! [Laughter and applause.] W^hen I went to school that was the 
Northwest Territory, and the Northwest Territory — well,' says he, 'we 
looked upon that as away off and didn't know anything about it. 
Fact is, we didn't know anything at all about it.' 

"Said I: 'My friend, think of it a moment. Down here in 
Georgia, one of the original States which formed this great Union of 
this country, you have stood fast. You have stood fast while the great 
Northwest has been growing with a giant's growth. Iowa today, my 
friend, contains more railroads, more turnpikes, more acres of culti- 
vated land, more people, more intelligence, more schools, more col- 
leges — more of everything which constitutes a refined and enlightened 
State — than the whole State of Georgia.' 

" 'My God,' says the man, 'it's awful. I didn't dream of that.' 

" 'Well,' says I, 'look here, my friend, I was once a banker, and I 
have some knowledge of notes, indorsements, etc. Did you ever have 
anything to do with indorsements ?' 

"Says he: 'Yes, I have had my share. I have a factor down in 
Savannah, and I give my note and he endorses it and I get the money 
-omehow or other. I have to pay it in the end on the crop.' 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 67 

" 'Well,' says I, 'now look here. In 1861 the Southern States had 
4,000,000 slaves as property, for which the States of Pennsylvania, 
New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and so forth were endorsers. We 
were on the same bond. Your slaves were protected by the same law 
which protects land and other property. Now, you got mad at them 
because they didn't think exactly as you did about religion, and about 
that thing and t'other thing ; and like a set of fools, you first took your 
bond and drew your name through the endorsers'. You never will get 
paid for those niggers at all. [Laughter.] They are gone. They're 
free men now.' 

" 'Well,' says he, 'we were the greatest set of fools that ever were 
in the world.'" [Laughter.] 



WHY JOHN RYNER WAS PARDONED. 
A Philadelphian, who was Jefferson Davis' private telegraph mes- 
senger during the war, relates the following incident of a Christmas 
eve, when, just as he was ready to be dismissed — the office closed at 
10:30 p. m. — the operator gave him a message, saying it must be 
answered that night. It came from Fredericksburg, and read as 
follows : 

To His Excellency President Jefferson Davis : 

I am going to be shot at 7 in the morning for desertion. Pardon me for the 
sake ot my poor wife and seven little children. John Ryner. 

"You may be sure I took the message," said he, "and ran to the 
house of the President. My boyish heart had been touched. I seemed 
to feel the weight of that man's life in my hands, and I made his 
business my business. As I got to the house I saw the bright lights 
and heard music. I rang the bell. A little adjutant came out. 'An 
important message for the President,' I said. He took it and in a few 
minutes brought it back. 'Referred to Adjutant General Cooper,' he 
had written on it. I burst into tears, because I knew old Cooper 
would't pardon the man. Still, I took it and ran through the sleet 
and snow to Cooper's house. An old negro woman opened the door, 
which nearly knocked her down, the wind blew in so. 'An awful 



68 WAR ANECDOTES 

night, marster !' she said. 'Yes, marmy,' said I, 'let me see the General, 
quick.' She said, 'I don't know as I kin ; he's just at dinner.' 'But 
this is important,' I said. She let me in, and just then I saw old 
General Cooper, a tall old man, Avith long white hair, going up the 
stairs from the dining-room into a group of young ladies. That was 
my time. So, rushing up, I said: 'A very important message, sir.' 
Of course the ladies gathered around and said: 'Oh, what is it?' The 
old General read it, and you should have heard the ladies, cry. They 
all begged him to let the man go. He didn't say a word, but wrote on 
the back of the message : 'John Ryner is reprieved.' You can be sure 
I didn't lose any time sending that message. " 



THE SA3fE NAME FOR T WO MEN. 
An Illinois soldier tells of the following curious experience: "At 
Antietam I took a pair of" nicely polished shoes from the body of a 
man who must have been in life a model soldier, and wore them four 
or five days before I had an opportunity to examine them carefully. 
When I did I made a startling discovery. On the under side of the 
flap or tongue was written, in a clear, round hand, my own name. I 
was confident that I had never written it there, but there on both 
shoes were my initials and my family name, and I had taken these 
shoes four days before from the feet of a man killed in battle. I could 
not put them on again. I walked in my stocking feet to the commis- 
sary department, secured a pair of new shoes, and I have the other 
shoes yet. The affair troubled me for a long time, but finally I learned 
that there was no family relationship) whatever. He had come to this 
country from England and had been in the country only a few months 
when the war broke out. He enlisted through a spirit of adventure 
and I was the means of giving his relatives definite information as to 
his fate." 



WELL MEANING, BU T NOT TRUTHFUL. 

One day a gentleman, not connected with the Southern Army, was 
riding to overtake Lewis's Kentucky Brigade, then serving as mounted 



ly CID EN TS OF AR M Y LIFE 69 

infantry, and operating between Augusta and Savannah, Ga., after 
Sherman had reached the latter city. The brigade, reduced to a few 
hundred by four years' active service in the field, had just marched 
through a little village, where the gentleman soon after arrived. He 
rode up to the door of a cottage in which dwelt an old Irishman and 
his spouse, and inquired if they had seen any Confederates passing. 
The old lady, seeing that the interrogator had on a blue army over- 
coat, naturally concluded that he was i,he advance of a Union column 
in pursuit, and being a true Southron, she thought to do the cause a 
service by at once striking terror into the enemy's ranks. She there- 
fore answered : 

"Yis, sir; they have jist been afther marching through, and there 
was twinty thousand o' them if there was a single mon !" 

The gentleman thanked her for the information, and turned his 
horse's head in the direction the "twinty thousand" had gone. The 
old man, thinking that the exaggeration had not been sufficiently com- 
plete, ceased the vigorous whiffing at his pipe long enough to call after 
the supposed Unionist : 

"Yis, sir, that's ivery word the thruth, it is. And they were dommed 
big min at that !" 



''HUDDLE] GOL DARN YE!" 

Immediately after the ordinances of secession had been passed, and 
it became apparent that there would be war, the attention of the 
Southern youth was directed almost exclusively to Hardee's Tactics, 
and especially "The Drill of the Company." Military organizations 
sprang up thick as hops all over the country, and the rivalry between 
them, as Avell as the interest elicited from their civilian friends and 
admirers, was immense. There was one very fine company organized 
at Memphis, which acquired a wide reputation for excellence in all the 
evolutions. It was commanded by a Mexican veteran who was a 
master of tactics and martinet in drill. Every afternoon a throng of 
people would resort to the large vacant lot whereon this company was 
receiving instruction, to witness and applaud its performance. On one 



70 WAR ANECDOTES 

occasion, when an unusually large and appreciative crowd was col- 
lected aud many ladies present, the Captain became so enthused that, 
after exhausting every recognized movement, he began to extemporize, 
and shouted out the command : "Company, right and left oblique; 
march." The men gallantly essayed to obey the order, and, diverging 
from either flank, scattered widely. The Captain racked his brain for 
a proper command to bring them together again, but the Tactics pro- 
vided no formula for such a dilemma. At length, when the boys had 
become strung out like a flock of wild pigeons, and seemed about to 
separate for ever, he yelled, in desperation : "Huddle ! Gol darn ye!" 



A CHAPLAINCY DECLINED. 

When General Gideon S. Pillow, of Tennessee, Avas raising a regi- 
ment of volunteers for the Confederate Army, he sent an invitation to 
Parson Brownlow to act as chaplain. The response was characteristic 

of the man. He wrote: "When I make up my mind to go to , 

I'll cut my throat and go direct, and not travel around by way of the 
Southern Confederacy." 



A VERITABLE RIP VAN WINKLE. 

Captain , of the Indiana regiment, was, during one 

of the last battles in Virgiana before the final surrender, while leading 
his company in a charge, struck by a bullet in the head, and fell. 
Being a great favorite with his men, they carefully carried him to a 
hospital in the rear, where he had every possible attention. Then he 
Avas conveyed to AVashington and placed in one of the hospitals, and, 
after a long jieriod of suffering, hisAvound healed, but his reason had 
fled. He Avas officially declared insane, and placed in an asylum near 
Washington, Avhere he remained tAventy years in this condition. 

A fcAV months ago his reason returned, and to-day he is as sane a 
man as lives. He says the past is a blank. He can scarcely com- 
prehend that he is not the same young man that he Avas twenty years 
ago. He has found some of his comrades, and these have treated 
him with great kindness. He can describe scenes and incidents of 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 71 

the war with as much clearness as if they had taken place but a 
few months ago. Among the friends he made is ex-Secretary of War 
Lincoln, who became interested in his case and had his a2:)plication for 
a pension made special by the commissioner of pensions, who also 
took an interest in the matter, and he leceived S10,000 of back pen- 
sion money, with which he went into business. 



UNION DEATHS IN THE WAR. 

Not until twenty years after the war was a careful official record 
made of the number of deaths that occurred in the Union army. 
Finally, a minute and exhaustive exploration of all attainable official 
documents was made by an experienced statistician of the Adjutant 
General's Office, occupying about a year, with the aid of ten clerks. 
The resulting table shows a total of 9,853 deaths of commissioned 
officers and 349,913 deaths of enlisted men, making an aggregate of 
359,496 deaths among the Union forces. The period included in the 
record is, for the regular troops, the interval between April 15, 1861, 
and August 1, 1865; for a portion of the volunteers it is prolonged 
beyond the latter date until the muster out of each organization. It 
will be remembered that the troubles in Mexico and other causes occa- 
sioned the retention of some volunteers in the service after the down- 
fall of the Confederacy. Indeed, the last white volunteer organiza- 
tion was disbanded November 18, 1867, and the last colored regiment 
December 20, 1867, while the last officer of the volunteer general staff 
was not mustered out until July 1, 1869. 

Yet, careful as the examination of the records has been, one lack 
renders it still far from complete. The death registers of some of the 
largest prisons at the South, used for the confinement of Union sol- 
diers, are missing. For the prisons at Americus, Atlanta, Augusta, 
Charleston, Lynchburg, Macon, Marietta, Mobile, Montgomery, 
Savannah, Shreveport and Tyler the registers have not been 
secured at all, and the importance of these prisons is avoII known. 
Only partial records were had from the prisons at Cahawba, Columbia, 
Florence, S. C. , Milieu and Salisbury. There have been ways, it is 



72 WAB ANECDOTES 

true, of partly working up these deficiencies; but, on the other hand, 
as Quartermaster General Meigs has shown, in many Southern prisons 
three or four corpses of Union prisoners were sometimes buried in the 
same trench, and the number of graves only imperfectly indicates the 
number of dead. Even in this most imperfect record, the number of 
Union soldiers known to have died in captivity was close uj^on thirty 
thousand — in exact figures, 29,498. 

The following table shows the general results: 

Officers. Men. Aggregate. 

Killed or died of wounds 6,365 103,673 110,038 

Died of disease 2,795 221,791 224,586 

Drowned 106 4,838 4,944 

Other accidental deaths 142 3,972 4,114 

Murdered 37 487 524 

Killed after capture 14 86 100 

Committed suicide 26 365 391 

Executed 267 267 

Executed by enemy 4 60 64 

Died from sunstroke 5 308 313 

Other known causes 62 1,972 2,034 

Causes not stated 28 12,093 12,121 

Totals 9,584 349,912 359,496 

In a classification by States, the aggregate deaths, of both officers 
and men, of prisoners and men in active service, who were killed in 
action, died of wounds, or died of disease, Avere as follows: 

Active men. Prisoners. Aggregate. 

Alabama 309 36 345 

Arkansas 1,683 80 1,713 

California 573 ... 573 

Colorado 322 1 323 

Connecticut 4,721 633 5,354 

Dakota 6 ... 6 

Delaware. 806 76 882 

District of Columbia 230 60 290 

Florida 213 2 215 

Georgia 15 ... 15 

Illinois 32,886 1,948 34,834 



INCID ENTS OF ARMY L TFE 73 

Indiana 25,363 1,309 26,672 

Iowa 12,295 706 13,201 

Kansas 2,544 86 2,630 

Kentucky <J,754 1,020 10,774 

Louisiana 929 16 '945 

Maine 8,732 666 9,398 

Maryland 2,260 722 2,982 

Massachusetts .' 12,078 1,864 13,942 

Michigan 13,294 1,459 14,753 

Minnesota 2,392 192 2,584 

Mississippi 78 ... 78 

Missouri 13,553 334 13,887 

Nebraska 237 2 239 

Nevada 33 ... 33 

New Hampshire 4,482 368 4,850 

New Jersey 5,232 522 5,754 

New Mexico 277 ... 277 " 

New York 40,988 5,546 46,534 

North Carolina 290 70 360 

Ohio 32,764 2,711 35,475 

Oregon 45 ... 45 

Pennsylvania 28,420 4,763 .33,183 

Ehode Island 1,218 103 1,321 

Tennessee 5,495 1,282 6,777 

Texas 133 8 141 

Vermont 4,589 635 5,224 

Virginia 29 13 42 

West Virginia 3,340 677 4,017 

Wisconsin 11,590 711 12,-301 

Washington Territory 22 ... 22 

Indian Nations 1,016 2 1,018 

Veteran Eelief Corps 1,672 ... 1,672 

Veteran Volunteer (H. C.) 106 ... 106 

Vol. Eg. and S. S 527 25 552 • 

A^olunteer Infantry 243 ... 243 

General and Staff Officers 236 3 239 

Colored troops 36.556 291 36,847 

Miscellaneous 230 2 232 

Eegular army 5,192 006 5,798 

Totals 329,998 29,498 359,496 

This aggregate of nearly 360,000 deaths of Uniou soldiers must be 

supplemented liy a like record of Confederate .soldiers, in order to find 

the real iiundier of victims to the; Avar in both armies. Then the naval 

deaths inust also be ascertained and added. Many a soldier and sailor 



74 WAE ANECDOTES 

met a fate more di-eaded than death in being crippled for life or made 
the prey of lingering disease contracted in the service. 



BEAVER THAN THEY MEANT TO BE. 

At the time Buell and Bragg were making their celebrated race for 
Louisville the former was moving by the Louisville and Nashville 
turnpike, while Bragg was hurrying forward by the Bardstown pike. 
Both were making forced marches, and many men broke down. One of 
Buell's men found his feet utterly incapable of supporting him any long- 
er. He tried to get into an ambulance, l)ut all were full. Then he con- 
sulted with half a dozen of his friends in like condition, with the re- 
sult that they stole a hand car and started for Louisville by the rail- 
road. Their theory was that the railroad and pike were parallel and 
so close together that they could easily rejoin their regiment if neces- 
sary. But the railroad made a great bend to get around Muldrough's 
Hill, while the pike went directly over it. The bend took it, at that 
time, inside Bragg's lines. But of that the hand car passengers Avere 
not aware, until it was quite too late to help it. They worked their 
way to the top of the grade and started down at a tearing pace, find- 
ing out for the first time that their hand car had no brake. But they 
were reckless and rather enjoyed it, until they suddenly dashed into 
and through a group of Confederates guarding the railroad. A hun- 
dred times, perhaps, Avithin a few miles were they ordered to halt, but 
they couldn't have halted if they had wanted to, and they didn't want 
to. AVithout moving a hand this squad of blue coats charged through 
his guards and along the flank of Bragg's army, creating as much 
astonishment as if they had rode through them on horseback, going 
into the Confederate lines as though shot out of a cannon, and out of 
them at the same speed. Finally, as the level ground was reached, 
they discovered a Confederate force burning the bridge over a small 
stream some distance ahead. They managed to stop the hand car, and 
took to the woods, where they hid until night. Then they managed 
to evade the enemy and finally made a triumphal entry into Louisville 
some days ahead of Buell — where they were promptly placed under 



IN CUD E N TS OF ARMY LIFE 75 

arrest to await the coming up of their regiment. Genex'al Nelson 
heart! their story, and though he ordered them under arrest, he took a 
grim delight in tlie reflection that they had hroken through Bragg's 
lines, even though invounltarily and in a hand car. 



8 T A N T ON A S A REPOB TER. 

The great war Secretary had but little respect for the newspaper 
men of the time. Too many of them were so anxious to print the 
news as to care nothing for the consequences of disclosures of move- 
ments thereby made, and few of them ever rose high in his favor. 
The Washington Chronicle, however, was the nearest to an exception, 
and some of the staff of that paper were treated with occasional 
marked favor. On one occasion — during the battles of the Wilder- 
ness — a reporter of the Chronicle, the Secretary's special favorite, by 
the way, had been at the department from early evening until 3 a. m. 
He was sure there was important news and he was determined to get 
it. When a reporter makes up his mind like that he commonly suc- 
ceeds. But not a line could he get hold of, and the .' ecretary 
declined to admit him to the inner office. He sat in the little side 
room all alone, save his cigar and the small ei-randboy of the Chroni- 
cle, who was coiled up on a chair fast asleep. He knew the Secretary 
was in his room, and he would stay as long as the Secretary did. 

It was 3 a. m. when the doors opened and Mr. Stanton walked out. 
The reporter at once stood before him. 

"You here yet?" said Mr. Stanton. 

"Yes, sir," was the reply. 

"My boy, I sent you word frequently that I had nothing for you. I 
have nothing I can give to the press." 

"But, Mr. Stanton " 

"Ah, yes, I know; but even if I would give you anything it is too 
late now." 

"Not at all, sir," eagerly anssvered the reporter. "There is a 
youngster asleep there in the corner who will be at the Chi-onicle 
office as quick as lightning if I say the word, and all will be in readiness 



76 WAJft ANECDOTES 

for me and the copy by the time I reach there. I have two carriages 
at the door." 

"So! Well, you deserve not to be disapoiuted. Say the word! 
Start off the boy and turn up the light at the high desk there." 

The boy was off in a second, and the weary, cross-grained Secretary 
took his position standing at the high desk. He wrote steadily with- 
out speaking a word for at least an hour ; tearing up many sheets and 
throwing them in small pieces upon the floor and making many 
erasures. The reporter was on pins and needles. When he was 
through he gave the reporter a dozen or more small pages of copy 
headed "The Situation." Then he said : "Now don't tell on me! Come, 
let us getaway from here." They walked slowly out of the depart- 
ment. To the reporter it seemed they went like snails. At the 
carriage door they said good-night. Horses never before so galloped 
down the avenue as did those of the Chronicle man's carriage. The 
article on "The Situation" appeared double-leaded in a second edition 
of the Chronicle a brief while afterward, p,nd was the cause of wild 
comment, for it carried the stamp of authority upon its face. It was 
telegraphed all over the country. The printers preserved their 
"takes" of the copy as mementoes, and no doubt they are somewhere 
yet retained as valuable curiosities. This was probably the only time 
during Mr. Stanton's incumbency of the War Department that his 
hand-writing was seen in the composing-room of a newspaper ofiice. 
The article was not published as from the Secretary of War, for the 
reporter kept faith, and the story was not told for many years after 
the war. 



A DESERTER'S EXTRAORDINARY CASE. 

An ex-deputy provost marshal for the Fifteenth District of Ohio 
tells the following singular story of the arrest of a deserter : 

"One morning as I was coming down town from breakfast I met a 
man and woman who were in a buggy. The lady inquired for the 
pi'ovost marshal, saying she had brought her husband and wanted to 
turn him over to me as a deserter. Their name was Applegate, and. 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 77 

as it was a new experience for me to have a woman voluntarily con- 
stitute herself an assistant of mine for the special purpose of having 
her husband arrested as a deserter, I asked her how it happened that 
she had brought him in. After comparing her story with the infor- 
mation I had before, I concluded that Applegate was less to blame in 
the matter than some one else. It appeared that he was induced to 
volunteer in Burnap's battery, but with the distinct understanding 
with Buruap that he was to be permitted to go to Pittsburg with a 
large load of staves and headings and dispose of them before he re- 
ported for duty. Before Applegate had time, however, to start on his 
trip, he and Burnap had a personal difficulty, one result of which 
was Burnap's retracting his consent for Applegate to make the trip. 
But the barge was loaded, and Applegate having contracted with a 
steamer to tow it, he got off to Pittsburg, sold his stuff, and came home 
to find the battery gone, while he was reported in his neighborhood as 
a deserter. It seems his neighbors made it pretty warm for him 
about home, trying to capture him, but his wife wanted to fit him out 
in underclothing, etc., before he left, and he managed to evade them 
until she got him ready to go, then she took him in a buggy, left home 
long before daylight, and met me, as stated. 

"The woman bid her husband good-by and started back home. I 
told Applegate I should take him to Marietta on the steamer Mattie 
Roberts on the next day but one, upon which he said that if at home 
he would be able to shear his sheep the next day, and meet the boat at 
a point higher up the river the day after. I told him he might go, 
but he would not do so until I gave him a written permit, which I 
did. I found out afterward that his wife had stopped somewhere on 
the road, and when she got home she found Applegate there ahead of 
her. Thinking he had given her the slip, she was for taking him in 
the buggy and bringing him right back. He had told her that I had 
let him come home to shear his sheep, but she would not believe him 
until he had shown her the written permit. 

"Sure enough, Applegate met the boat at the place agreed on and 
we proceeded to Marietta. Although he was technically a deserter it 



78 WAM ANECDOTES 

was uot through any fault of his, so wheu I got to Marietta, I turned 
over the other prisoners I had with me to Captain Barber in the 
usual way, telling him I had another man, whom I wanted a different 
disposition made of. I told Applegate's story, closing by saying : 

"'Now, I want you to make out transportation for Applegate to 
Louisville and a receipt to be signed by the proper officers there, give 
them to Applegate and let him go to Louisville by himself, report there, 
get the receipt signed and send it to you by mail. Also, to give him 
orders for similar papers to be issued at Louisville, to enable Apple- 
gate to report himself to the battery. I think it will be a disgrace to 
the government, beside an unjust burden on this man, to make him 
pay the expense of a guard after what he has already done, and if you 
will do what I have aked you to, I'll vouch for him faithfully report- 
ing himself at Louisville.' 

"After studying over it a while, Barber finally made out the papers 
and gave them to Applegate, who, finding it was nearly train time, 
made tracks for the station and got aboard. Before he was expecting 
it the receipt came to Captain Barber by mail from Louisville, and 
soon after we learned that Applegate had arrived at the battery, 
turned himself over there, and sent his voucher back to Louisville. 
So he did as he agreed to all the way through, and was at the front 
much sooner than if he had been sent under guard." 



HOW A REFRAIN ORIGINATED. 

In a letter to the editor of a Kansas paper. Judge George A. Hurm, 
a prominent attorney of Topeka, Kansas, says of the authorship of 
the refrain running, 

"We'll hang Jeff Davis on a sour apple tree 

As we go marching on." 
"The verse was first sung by myself, at the time a soldier in brave 
old Jimmy Shields' division, in the Shenandoah Valley near New 
Market, Virginia, in the spring of 1862. We were at that time push- 
ing 'Stonewall' Jackson up the valley to Harrisburg, and cheered the 
weariness of an all-night march through rain and mud by singing 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY L IFF 79 

'John Brown's Body,' until the words seemed as badly worn out as the 
tired troops. Our brigade halted at the roadside and were hastily 
boiling coffee for their scant breakfast, while in the column still 
tramping by a tired soldier here and there wearily continued the refrain 

'While his soul goes marching on,' 
when suddenly an old ditty I had heard when a boy about 

'A sick monkey on a sour apple tree,' 
came to my mind, and I remarked to my chum, 'Let us give John 
Brown a rest.' He said, 'How will you do it?' I replied singing : 

'We'll hang Jeff Davis on a sour apple tree,' 
when rapidly as sound could travel, the words were caught up and in 
a few moments Shields' division were singing them. 

"The Graphic is not the first to characterize the line as 'coarse and 
half brutal,' for, some years afterward, while Jetf Davis and 
family were guests of the nation at Fortress Monroe, I remember to 
have seen the published copy of a letter from Mrs. Davis, in which 
she complained bitterly of the brutality of the Union soldiers who 
had taught her youngest child, I think she called him 'little Jeff,' to 
'sing the coarse words,' and said the little innocent never seemed as 
happy as when singing 

'We'll hang Jeff Davis on a sour apple tree,* 
in the neighborhood of his father's cell. At this distance it is not sur- 
prising that the line grates harshly on fastidious ears, but then it was 
not constructed for use. in a drawing-room. " In fact, there was no 
special thought in its construction ; it was one of those things which 
simply drops into a niche that fits, and if the thousands of soldiers who 
on the weary march were invigorated by the impassioned woi-ds are 
not ashamed for having sung them, neither am I ashamed for having 
originated them." 



AN UNSUNG BALAKLAVA. 

The battle of Cedar Mountain, while not one of the greatest, was 
undoubtedly one of the most hotly contested and sanguinary conflicts 
of the war. The intrepid stand made by Crawford's brigade of the 



go WAR ANECDOTES 

Union forces, bordered on the heroic. When, after several hours of 
musketry fighting, the Union forces were compelled to fall back, and 
two divisions of the enemy's infantry swiftly advanced to follow up 
their advantage, it was seen that it was impossible to rescue Best's bstt- 
tery from capture unless these great masses of infantry were checked, 
moving as they were directly for the guns. The one eye of the young 
General Bayard (the other eye was lost in the service against the In- 
dians) saw at a glance the whole situation, and riding up to Major R. 
J. Falls, who, with a squadron of the First Pennsylvania Cavalry, 
were just within the woods skirting a Avheat field over which the 
enemy were advancing, he calmly pointed to the grey masses pouring 
down the slope, and commanded him to charge right through them. 
Major Falls must have shuddered and believed his General mad, as he 
looked at his little command, composed of 216 men, and cast his eyes 
upon the heavy bodies of infantry approaching, and thought of the 
hopelessness and apparent futility of such a charge. But he was too 
good a soldier to hesitate, and he had been trained under the young 
General, who had taught them that neither officer nor man should 
ever question his command. 

Straightening himself in his stirrups he moved his squadron out of 
the woods into the open field, and when he looked back and saw his 
little band of brave boys sitting like so many statues in their saddles, 
he thundered the command to charge, and with a savage yell they 
were flung right and left against the coming lines of infantry, slashing 
and cutting as they went, Fall's own saber piercing clear through the 
neck of one of the enemy, so fierce and resistless was their onset. 
Forward, still forward, until they had plunged through three lines of 
the foe, driving them in dismay and panic in every direction. And 
then as suddenly, when in the rear of the whole Confederate Army, 
they wheeled about and with savage fury dashed back through the 
demoralized and broken ranks of the enemy, and the guns were saved. 
Saved, but only sixty men came out, and one company was almost 
annihilated. The gallant Falls rode through this tempest of death and 
back again unhurt. 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 81 

Captain John P. Taylor, who afterwards became a cavalry General 
and commanded the First Brigade of the Second Cavalry Division of 
the Army of the Potomac Avith great distinction, said of this charge : 

"The enemy were not aware of any cavalry being on that part of 
the field, and when we moved out into the field and Falls gave the 
order to charge, it took us but a moment to reach the enemy's lines. 
After crossing the wheat field we obliqued to the left, and on our 
turning to come out we caught it on both flanks, suffering very little 
in the charge going in, as the enemy were evidently stunned at the 
sight of us. My horse was killed, and on coming out on foot I can 
only compare the bullets threshing up the dust in front of men to the 
commencement of a shower of rain with big drops falling in the dust. 
Ten years after the war I visited the battle-field, and found living on 
it Major Throckmorton, who was in the battle as a staff" officer of 
Jackson's. He informed me that this charge was a great surprise, and 
that we rode up to within 200 yards of "Stonewall" Jackson's head- 
quarters, and nearly caused a stampede of the two corps under his 
command, which was only checked by Jackson himself mounting his 
horse and riding through his men, imploring them to stand by their 
General. Major Throckmorton considered it the most dashing charge 
of the war, saying that we had come through three lines of battle and 
others who were cooking coffee in the rear." 



COULDN'T SURRENDER TO HIM. 

On the occasion of the Union advance to Stone river, or Murfrees- 
boro, the Confederates drew back to a line of Ijattle. On the retreat 
a young Confederate soldier fell and a heavy rail struck him across 
the thighs, but he managed to crawl up to two stacks of straw and 
drag himself between them for concealment. AVhile here he was 
found by Jack Norris, a stalwart six-footer of the Fifth Kentucky 
(Union) Infantry, who had been detailed as a stretcher-bearer. 
Norris repeatedly ordered the young Confederate to surrender, and 
was as often answered by the snapping of a gun, which would not go 
off". Colonel Treanor, hearing the cursing of Norris, hurried to the 



•82 WAR ANECDOTES 

scene, and the young soldier at once said he would surrender to a 
soldier, but not to an infernal stretcher-bearer. The prisoner was a 
handsome boy of sixteen years, and a nephew of the Confederate 
General Wood. The large-hearted Union Colonel took the boy 
under his protection, conceived a great liking for him, shared his 
sweet potato supper with him, spooned under the same blanket, and 
bade him "good-bye" at last with real regret. 



THE OPENING AT SHILOH. 

A member of the first brigade attacked at Shiloh says: 
"It was my fortune to see the battle begin. It was in this wise: 
The left of our brigade, consisting of the Seventieth, Forty-eighth 
and Seventy-second Ohio Regiments, rested on the direct road to 
Corinth at the old Shiloh church. When the picket firing began in 
our immediate front, less than one mile from our 'color line,' Colonel 
Parker, of the Forty-eighth, asked permission of Colonel Buckland, 
commanding the brigade, to take the Forty-eighth out and recon- 
noiter the enemy's position. For this purpose the regiment started 
out, marching by the right flank, four abreast. They all went out 
in fine glee, with elastic step and heads up. It was a fine sight. The 
road which they took passed down a slight depression to Owl Creek, 
which was only a few hundred yards from our front. Instead of fol- 
lowing directly after the regiment, I passed along on the right on 
higher ground than the route it had taken. Just as the front of 
our column reached the creek I heard a crackling of brush in my 
front, and on peering through the trees — all of our front was wood- 
laud, with a heavy undergrowth in most places — what should I behold 
but a line of infantry in grey, extending as far as the eye could 
reach, moving on the double quick to our right, with trailed arms. 
The men of the regiment seemed to have spied them at the same in- 
stant, and countermarched within not more than three hundred yards 
of this fatal column. My first move was to notify our brigade com- 
mander of the situation, whom I soon found sitting on his horse listen- 
ing to the desultory picket firing ofi" to the left. I hardly had time 



INCID EN TS OF ARMY L IFE S3 

to impart my information before the Forty-eighth and Seventieth 
Regnnents were engaged in the death struggle. In less time, it seems, 
after this, than it takes to tell it, the Avhole line was 'one blaze of 
fire.' What followed is a matter of history." 



MUTUALLY SALUTING THE FOURTH. 
On the Fourth of July, 1862, a few days after the battle of Mal- 
vern Hill, Kearney's division was being pressed hard by Ewell in an 
attempt to reconnoiter the new position McClellan was taking on the 
James river. The firing was quite severe. Suddenly, just before 
noon, the Union artillery fire slackened and then ceased. At 12 
o'clock exactly came twenty-one shots from each battery, the reports 
of which sounded soft, in strong contrast to those of a few minutes 
before. They were made by blank cartridges, and it was the regula- 
tion salute for Independence Day. It was a bit of sentiment that did 
honor to somebody to cease firing at an enemy long enough to give a 
salute. But the enemy was not behind in chivalrous devotion to the 
Fourth of July. Almost immediately his firing ceased for a moment, 
and then from the Confederate cannon came a similar salute, in 
sounds very different from the sharp, spiteful ring of shotted guns. 
Cheers went up simultaneously from both sides, but in ten minutes 
more they were banging away at each other with shell and shot in the 
most deadly earnest. 



A BRIDGE OF COTTON. 

When Colonel Andrew Hickenlooper was chief of engineers on 
General McPherson's staflf, at one time when it became necessary to 
cross the Tennessee river, on whose banks they were encamped, the 
General sent for him and said it was absolutely necessary that he 
should build a bridge .^hat night on which the army should cross at 
daylight. 

"But, General," said Hickenlooper, aghast, "there is not a stick of 
timber within miles big enough to carry an empty caisson, and the 
wagons with the pontoons are twenty miles in the rear ! " 



84 WAH ANECDOTES 

"Can't help that," rejoined McPherson. "The bridge must be 
built and the army on the ruove by 4 o'clock to-morrow morning. 
Good afternoon, Colonel Hickenlooper," and he bowed the discom- 
fited engineer out of his tent. 

Hickenlooper went away in real and abject misery. The sun was 
only an hour or two high and he had little enough time to build a 
bridge, even if he had plenty of material, whereas he had nothing. 
To fail was to lose all professional standing, and as he thought of the 
prospect he fairly sweat blood. Mechanically he walked to the river 
and went up and down it for some distance to pick out the best point 
for a crossing. Finally, nearly a mile above camp, he suddenly came 
across an old cotton gin full of cotton in bales. An inspiration came 
to him. Why not build a bridge of cotton ? 

In half an hour a large detail of men was on the ground and the 
night's work began. Big cables were stretched across the river to 
hold the bales, which were piled in tiers across the river. The boards 
of the gin-house were placed on them for a roadbed. But at the best 
the job Avas a poor one, and so weak that Hickenlooper was in an 
agony of apprehension. The top bales were only three inches above 
the water and the cables were uncertain. But at 3 o'clock next morn- 
ing Hickenlooper roused up McPherson and reported the bridge 
ready, and in five minutes preparations were making for the march. 
Hickenlooper crossed to the other side and eagerly watched the result. 
The bridge sunk under the weight of the men, and the artillery 
brought it down so that the water ran into the mouths of the cannon, 
but the cables did not part and the bales staid in place, and at 11:30 
the last man and the last wagon were safely across the bridge of cot- 
ton, greatly to the builder's relief. 



' ' SHERMAN'S B UMMERS. " 

Volumes have been written for and against those free lances who, 
on Sherman's "march to the sea" and up the coast, succeeded so well 
in enforcing Sherman's own saying, that war was terrible. That they 
did an outrageous thing occasionally was to be expected. But they 



INC ID ENTS OF ARMY L IFE 85 

were a necessity to the army under the conditions then and there 
existing. That famous march would never have been the success it 
was but for the resistless energy with which they foraged. 

When it is remembered that Sherman's army consisted of 60,000 
men, and that they, with the horses and mules, were almost wholly 
subsisted by the efforts of fifteen or twenty men detailed from each 
regiment, it will be seen that the life of the bummer during the sixty 
days' journey through South and North Carolina was an energetic one 
at least, if the much-abused fellows did occasionally plunder. 

From every regiment, upon the arrival of the army at the Branch- 
ville Railroad, which ran from Charleston to Augusta, Ga., were de- 
tailed from fifteen to forty men, with orders to mount themselves as 
best they could and devote themselves to scouring the country on the 
flanks of the advancing column for food, forage, cattle, and plunder 
generally. 

The Twentieth Corps was the first to equip its bummers; some had 
horses furnished them, and others got them as best they could. Kil- 
patrick's cavalry gathered in many a hor.se or mule that had been 
left in an exposed condition duriug the night. At first all of the 
regiments were not represented, but before many days every command 
in the entire army had its baud of bummers. Each regiment acted 
on its own hook and had only one regulation to observe, and that was 
to take its regular turn in the advance. Each corps consisted of three 
divisions, and these had to go to the right in the advance on alternate 
days. And woe unto a squad of another division who gained the 
advance on a day when it was not its turn. When caught in such a 
proceeding the commanding General who was entitled to the advance 
would summarily arrest the disobedient bummers, dismount them and 
confiscate the plunder. 

At Fayetteville, N. C, forty-two bummers of the First Division, 
Twelfth Corps, drove the Confederates from the town and across Cape 
Fear River, taking possession and securing a vast quantity of flour, 
meal, meat and tobacco. This day the Second Division, blufi" old 
General Geary in command, had the "right to the road," and when 



86 WAR ANECDOTES 

he came up and found the condition of affairs, and realizing that the 
honor of capturing Fayetteville, with all its glory and plunder, had 
been insidiously appropriated by the insignificant forty-two Red Star 
bummers, his wrath knew no bounds. He sent for the commanding 
officer, and was answered that there was no commissioned officer there; 
that the men were composed of bummers from the Twenty-seventh 
Indiana aud Thirteenth New Jersey, and that a Hoosier-Jerseyman 
named Hi Hand, of the Thirteenth, "was running the thing." The 
staff officer hunted up the cheeky Hand, who had heretofore con- 
sidered himself equal to almost any emergency, and was looked upon as 
a sort of plumed knight by the men of the expedition. The General 
sent for him to report at headquarters, whither the do-as-you-please 
Hand went, aud after some little time was ushered into the terrible 
presence of the mighty Geary. 

"What is your regiment, and by whose authority do you presume 
to disobey orders in the manner you have done in advancing upon 
this place, thus laying yourself liable to captui-e aud death?" 

The culprit was temporarily paralyzed by the manner and substance 
of Geary's reception. But he readily recovered, and told the General 
that he and his comrades had not seen their division for twelve days; 
had been down on Lynch's Creek, plundering the people, converting 
the natives, educating the negroes, and making war terrible; and as a 
result, he told him that outside of the stores which they had captured 
on the retreat of the Confederates from Fayetteville, he had ten men 
running a large grist-mill at Rock Creek, six miles from there, and 
that he had thirty-six wagonloads of bacon and meal, forty horses 
and 2,000 negroes, which he would turn over to the proper officer in 
due time, and that he really must be off, as he had a letter-diary of 
the trip from Savannah which he Avanted to send to the New York 
Times by the first conveyance. According to a staff officer's account, 
who was present on theocoasiou, "The brave old general was paralyzed; 
he was dumbfounded. What was to be done? It would not do to 
compliment the twenty-year-old boy, and still he had proven himself 
the most successful forager in the command." Suffice it to say, Geary 



INCIDEN TS OF AR M Y L IFE 87 

released the brave and reckless forty-two bummers, and bade them re- 
port to their command. Before leaving Hand exchanged horses sur- 
reptitiously Avith Geary's Adjutant General, and joined his command, 
a veritable hero in the eyes of officers and men. 

The advance from Fayetteville to Goldsborough was impeded by the 
Confederates, and foraging was discontinued for the reasons that it 
was unsafe and the country had become so barren that there was noth- 
ing to plunder. But all of this vast army of bummers participated 
in the battles of March 16 and 19 and proved themselves as brave and 
dutiful in the ranks as they were adventurous and successful on the 
"flanks." 



A SOLDIERLY APOLOGY, 

One of the French princes who visited the Confederate Army at 
Manassas, while being escorted down a line of troops by Major Skinner, 
of the First Virginia Regiment, expressed a desire to return by the 
rear. The Major for a moment was placed in an awkward situation, 
and a blush mantled his cheek, but, quickly recovering himself, he 
replied in French: "Your Royal Highness, we Avould gladly take 
you to the rear, but the truth is, the linen of the men is in rather an 
exposed condition. It being a part of the person which we never ex- 
pect to show to the enemy, our soldiers think rags in that neighbor- 
hood are of but little consequence." 



THE RIGHT COUNTERSIGN. 
Old Ben Plunchard was a private in a Maine regiment, as brave as 
a lion and as true as steel. One night w'hen the army of the Potomac 
was in front of Fredericksburg, Ben was on guard. The darkness Avas so 
black that it might almost be felt, and it was raining like fun. Ben 
was walking back and forth, wet to the skin and almost dead for want 
of sleep, when he heard a footstep, and presently the outline of a man 
loomed out of the mist and darkness. Ben called out, "Who goes 
there?" "Friend!" came the answer. Ben demanded the countersign, 
but the man didn't have it. He said he was Ben's Captain, and had 



88 WAB ANECDOTES 

been visiting another regiment and got belated. Ben knew his man 
well enough, but he was a true soldier. "No use," said he, "I've got 
my orders, and you can't pass. Get out pretty quick or I'll give you 
a taste of the bayonet." "Nonsense, Ben," said the Captain, trem- 
bling, for he knew what kind of stuff Ben was made of, "let me get 
into camp; I'm wet as a di-owned rat." But Ben wasn't to be coaxed, 
and when the Captain heard the click of Ben's musket, he began to 
think it was about time to say his prayers. But he made one more 
appeal. "Ben," he said, "don't make a fool of yourself. I've got a 
canteen of whisky — " Before he could say more, Ben brought up his 
piece to the carry, with the words, "Countersign is right; advance, 
friend!" and took a swig from the canteen. Ben knew the countersign 
for a dark, rainy night. 



A BLUFF OF $100,000. 

The gambling that was done on the Mississippi River steamers during 
the war was something terrific. Soldiers with full pockets were con- 
tinually going up and down the river to and from their commands, 
and usually they afforded easy prey to the professional gamblers, who 
were almost as thick on these steamers as the men in uniforms. There 
are many stories of nofable incidents of the gaming table of those 
days, but none, perhaps, more remarkable than the following. 

Sometime after the fall of Vicksburg a veteran gambler got aboard 
at Cairo of one of the big boats bound south. He was a man who 
always carried very large sums of money, and consequently was gener- 
ally invincible iu a game of bluff. On the second day out he picked 
out (as his prey a young, pale man, who looked as though he might be the 
son of a rich planter, who paid little attention to his fellow passengers, 
but was generally found near his state-room, and was always attended 
by his body servant, a light young mulatto. It did not take long for 
the gambler to get acquainted, and in the course of time he proposed 
cards. Nothing loath the young man consented. They played with 
indifferent success, until the sharper proposed poker and moderate bets. 
The youngster agi'eed. At last the gambler made a heavy bet — and 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 89 

lost. Then he declared he must have his revenge, to which the other 
assented, and a new deck of cards was bought. Presently the gambler 
seemed to find a hand to suit him, for he began betting confidently. 
The youth lit a fresh cigar, looked thoughtful, and "saw" the bet and 
went $1,000 better. Now was the sharper's time, the moment of 
triumph for which he had been waiting. A large crowd had gathered 
around the table. Behind the young man's chair stood his body servant, 
quiet but anxious. The gambler looked over his hand once more, and 
laid it down as if satisfied. Then he leaned back, thrust his hand in 
his bosom and drew out a big, fat pocket-book and opened it. Placing 
it on the stake between them, he said: "I 'see' your $1,000" — 
and throwing down the rest of the bills with his other hand — "and I 
go you $20,000 better !" and as he spoke he reached up to the back of 
his neck and drew forth a long, glittering bowie knife and sent its 
sharp point into his cards on the table, where it quivered in defiance 
before the young man's face. 

For an instant no one moved or seemed to breathe. Then the 
mulatto, whose eyes had suddenly grown big as saucers and whose 
every muscle was rigid with excitement, leaned over and whispered to 
his master. The latter nodded, and sat back easily in his chair, while 
the servant stepped to their state-room, three steps away, and returned 
with a queer, strong looking portmanteau, which he placed by his master's 
side. The young man again looked quietly at his hand, and into the 
calm, insolent eyes of his opponent. Then he took a bunch of keys 
from his pocket, leaned over, unlocked the valise and began taking 
out queer brick-shaped packages in brown manilla wrappers and piling 
them up before him. The crowd looked on with ill concealed cu- 
riosity ; the gambler lifted his eyebrows in surprise, for he was in 
ignorance of what it meant, and the face of the darkey began to take 
on a look of satisfaction. The young man continued to pile up his 
packages, until he had twenty of them under his nose. Then his 
hands dropped to his side for an instant, but quickly came up again 
and he laid them on top of the pile, in each a big Colt's revolver, 
pointed full at the sharper's breast. He pushed the pile toward the 



90 WAR ANECDOTES 

center of the table, and as he did so the "click!" "click!" of the 
pistols as he cocked them was heard all over the cabin, as he said in a 
voice that was as suggestive of "cold steel" as the sound of his 
weapons : 

"1 'see' your $20,000, and go you $80,000 better!" 
The gambler, thrown completely off his guard, was for an instant 
stupefied. He looked up into the eyes of his opponent. They were 
mercilessly relentless. He realized that he had been beaten at his own 
game. Then his self-possession returned. He calmly reached forward, 
took up his bowie knife, returned it to its place, pushed back his chair, 
and saying, with a bow: "You have won!" rose and walked off, 
humming an air as lightly as if he had won at penny ante! His 
nerve now was, after all, equal to his insolence of a moment before. 

The young man slowly put up his pistols and returned his packages 
to the portmanteau, which Avas taken charge of by his servant. To a 
bystander who soon asked for an explanation, he said he was a pay- 
master on his way to Vicksburg to pay off the troops. He could as 
easily have made a "bluff" of $1,000,000. The story would not be 
complete without the assurance that it was really his last game of 
poker. 



ROUGH ON' THE GENERAL. 

During one of General Johnston's retreats two members of Fenner's 
New Orleans Battery were discussing the General and his military 
qualities, when one of them remarked : 

"I wish the General was dead and in heaven ; I think it would be a 
Godsend to the Confederacy." 

"Why, my dear fellow?" said the other. 

"If the General was near the gates of heaven, and invited in, he'd 
fall back !" 



MAHONE AT APPOMATTOX. 
Senator Mahone, of Virginia, who commanded Lee's rear guard on 
the retreat from Petersburg, thus describes the last day of that army : 



IN CID ENTS OF ARMY LIFE 91 

"We marched all night and the next day until about 4 o'clock in 
the afternoon, when we went into camp three miles south of Appo- 
mattox Court-house. Longstreet and Gordon were in front, and my 
division and General Fields' division were drawn up in line of battle to 
cover the rear. At daylight we moved to Appomattox and then 
halted. I received a message from Lee to come to the front. I 
found him just this side of the court-house, with Longstreet and his 
staff, warming themselves by a fire. Lee asked the staff to retire, and 
then he said that he had sent for me because he was in trouble. 

" 'Well, what is the matter now?" I asked. 

" 'I suppose you know that Grant has demanded our surrender,' he 
replied. 

" 'No, I do not know it, but I suspected it,' was my answei:. 

" 'Well, he has demanded our surrender, and I want to know what 
you think of it. We have only eight thousand muskets and two or- 
ganized bodies — yours and Fields'. 

" 'I take your purpose, General Lee, to be to effect a junction 
with Johnston in West North Carolina?' 

" 'Yes, sir,' said the General. 

*' 'In my judgment,' said I, 'this junction can be formed only in 
one of two ways — first to cut through the enemy's lines and fight our 
way out, and that can only be done at a great cost of life. If success- 
ful, we will only have a mere remnant of the army left, and that 
remnant can not be recruited and equipped by a government in a 
wagon. I can not see how^ you could supply an army with munitions 
and rations. We have another chance to get to Lynchburg, but we 
will certainly be harassed every step of the way, and when we get 
there we will still be farther away from Johnston.' I told him that 
the time had come when I thought he was called upon to perform the 
highest duty that could devolve upon an individual, to undergo a 
test of the highest degree of manhood ; that the time had come when, 
in my judgment, it was his duty to surrender the army ; that I be- 
lieved it would be a crime, under the circumstances, to sacrifice the 
life of another man. I told him that if the terms ofiered by General 



92 WAR ANECDOTES 

Grant were such as we were entitled to receive I should surrender im- 
mediately. If not, I would fight it out here. He then handed me 
General Grant's letter containing the proposed terms of surrender. I 
read it, and told him that I thought the terms Avere as honorable as 
could be asked by a defeated army. Lee turned questioningly to 
Longstreet, who simply said: 'I agree with Mahone.' 

" 'What will the country say? ' asked Lee. 

" 'You are the country now,' I answered. 'Our people will ap- 
prove.' He said he did not know where to find Grant. I told him 
to get on his horse and hunt him up. He left Longstreet in com- 
mand of the army, and rode away in search of the Union commander, 
accompanied only by a courier. I went back to my division, which 
Fields had put in line of battle, and told him what had occurred at 
the front. 

"To avoid another engagement we sent out a flag of truce. When 
the men formed in line they began digging trenches and otherwise ar- 
ranging for what they supposed to be an impending battle. They 
were ordered to stop work. It was the first order of the kind they 
had ever received under such circumstances. The soldiers seemed to 
understand what it meant without knowing anything of the events of 
the past twenty-four hours. As by instinct they realized that the war 
had come to an end. Some of the men began to cry, others threw 
their arms in joy around the necks of their comrades. Many of them 
broke their sword-blades and threw away their bayonets. I hastened 
out of sight of this affecting scene and rejoined General Lee at a little 
stream near Appomattox Court-house. Colonels Taylor and Stevens 
and several other officers were with him. I had scarcely reached the 
General's side when I saw a Union officer riding down the road from 
the court-house accompanied by a courier. He approached within 
one hundred feet of General Lee, at the same time saluting him, re- 
moving his hat, and took a note from his pocket, which General Tay- 
lor received and carried to General Lee. He read the note and 
answered it, and the Union officer rode back to the Union head- 
quarters. General Lee stood in the dirt road. He took the note, 



IN CID ENTS OF ARMY LIFE 93 

tore it up in little pieces and threw them upon the ground and with 
his heel stamped them under the dirt and out of sight. I mounted 
my horse and rode away, and General Lee went to meet General 
Grant. That is all I saw of the surrender." 



FARRAGUrS HOT COFFEE. 

Just before the Union fleet was to move in its attack at Mobile 
Bay one of Admiral Farragut's highest and most trusted oflScers ap- 
proached him. 

"Admiral," said he, "will you consent to have all hands piped to 
grog in the morning, a stiff horn all around, just enough to make Jack 
warm and stimulate his best qualities ? " 

"Well," replied the Admiral, "I have been to sea — a dog watch — 
and have seen a battle or two, but I never found that I wanted rum 
to enable me to do my duty. I will order two cups of coffee to each 
man at 2 o'clock, and at 8 o'clock I will pipe all hands to breakfast in 
Mobile Bay." 

Jack got his hot coffee, the Admiral took his station aloft, and the 
result is a matter of history. 



A CONTRAST IN PRICES. 

Just before the fall of Richmond the Confederate Government issued 
an impressment schedule of prices to be paid for property needed and 
taken for the uses of the army, with or without the owner's consent. 
Wheat was to be paid for at the rate of $25 a bushel; flonr, S125 a 
barrel; corn, $20 a bushel; bacon, $4 a pound; horses and mules, 
$1,200 each; wool, $8 a pound; peas, $30 a bushel ; potatoes, $20 a 
bushel ; dried peaches, $20 a bushel ; hay, $140 a ton ; wheat straw, 
$60 a ton; salt, $10 a bushel; soap, $3 a pound; whisky, $25 a 
gallon ; sugar, $5 a pound ; coffee, $10 a pound ; tea, $15 a pound ; 
pig iron, $400 a ton ; bar iron, $1,100 a ton ; beeves, $50 per 100 
pounds; sheep, $70 per 100 pounds; leather, $9 a pound; cotton 
shirting, $2 50 to $4 a yard; army shoes, $25 a pair; shoe thread, 
$6 per pound ; wool socks for men, $5 a pair ; etc. 



94 WAE ANECDOTES 

Ou April lOtli, thirteen days after the full of Richmond, the 
Petersburg Express published the following list of "prices of the 
day," regulated, it is true, mostly by the sutler, and of course, much 
higher than in Northern cities, but yet away below Confederate fig- 
ures : Butter, 60 and 75 cents per pound ; cheese, 50 cents ; mackerel, 
15 cents each ; fresh fruit in two pound cans, $1; raisins, 70 cents; 
corn starch, 25 cents; sardines, 75 cents ; hams, 40 cents per pound ; 
smoked beef, 40 cents ; condensed milk, 75 cents ; candles, 50 cents ; 
honey, 75 cents; coffee, 60 cents; tea, $3 and $4; Irish potatoes, $3 
per bushel ; pickles, iu gallon jars, $1 50 ; in quart jars, 75 cents ' 
crackers, 80 cents per pound ; cakes, 25 cents per dozen ; boots, $10 
to $15. 

The Richmond Whig had the following market report : "The dis- 
play of vegetables, meats, salads, etc. , in the upper market was better 
yesterday than at any time since the occupation of the city, but prices 
were inclined to rule high. Salads, from 30 to 50 cents; fish, per 
bunch, $1 ; meats, 40 to 50 cents a pound : butter, 50 and 60 cents." 



A CURIOUS COMPLICATION. 

It was in the spring of 1865. Desertions were frequent from the 
Confederate lines in front of Petersburg. Hugh Morris, a sergeant 
of a New Jersey regiment, had been reduced to the ranks. A detail 
for fatigue duty five miles away included Hugh. The following night 
a deserter who came in said he had a brother in the Union army, 
and on investigation it was ascertained to be Hugh. He was per- 
mitted to wait with Hugh's mess until his return. Meantime the 
commanding officer of Hugh's regiment had been detailed away from 
his command, and his successor was ignorant of the facts above nar- 
rated. He received, shortly after assuming command, an order from 
headquarters to send Hugh Morris' In-other there. He reported that 
Hugh was away on detail, and had no brother in the regiment. In 
doing so he (erroneously) signed the Colonel's name instead of his 
own. The Colonel had previously reported the deserter and obtained 
permission for him to wait for his brother's return. Meantime one of 



I^^ CID EN TS F A B M Y L IFE 95 

Geueral Meade's spies had come across the line and reported that 
Hugh had deserted and Avas giA'ing the Confederates all the informa- 
tion he could as to the Union army and position. The pretended 
brother was doubtless a Confederate epy. It would seem also, doubt- 
less, that the Colonel was in the game. Meade quietly ordered Wil- 
cox's division to surround the New Jersey regiment, and placed every 
one in it under arrest. The Confederate deserter could not be found. 
The officers of the regiment were furious. The next morning Fort 
Stedman was surprised and captured by the Confederates, as is 
known in history. On the same day Hugh Morris returned to his 
regiment, and was immediately arrested and brought before a court- 
martial for trial, charged with desertion. There was no evidence 
against him except the spy of General Meade, before mentioned. 
But that was direct and conclusive. He was on the Confederate out- 
post when Morris came in, himself seeking opportunity to reach the 
Union lines. He accompanied Morris to the rear and slept with him 
that night in the prison barracks near Petersburg. While Morris was 
asleep he took from him his diary and also cut from his head a lock 
of hair, both of which he showed the court. The last entry in the 
diary was mention of the fact of detail to lepair a locomotive engine. 
The clip of hair appeared to exactly match a sheared lock of Morris' 
head. Other than this and the fact that Morris had been reduced 
from sergeant to private and had expressed emphatic discontent, there 
was nothing against him. This, however, was absolute and con- 
vincing. 

Morris, in his defense, produced the four mechanics who were de- 
tailed with him to repair and replace the railroad engine which had 
been thrown from the military railroad and seriously impaired. They 
testified that he was with them continuously, and only left for his 
company when the job was completed, a short time before he in fact 
rejoined his company. He admitted the diary was his and made no 
explanation of the lock of hair. The mechanics who worked with 
him identified him particularly by the hat he wore, which had a pe- 
culiar feather in it, and also his coat sleeves showed the dark hues 



96 WAR ANECDOTES 

which had before been covered by the sergeant's chevrons. All the 
officers of his regiment testified to his uniform soldierly conduct 
through many campaigns and battles, and it also appeared that he 
had been deprived of his sergeant's rank because of communication 
with the enemy against express orders. 

The court was nonplused by the evidence. It adjourned early un- 
til the next morning. Late that night there came to the tent of its 
president one of the most reliable and conscientious Captains in the 
whole Army of the Potomac. He believed in him next to his Savior. 
He simply said: ''Morris ought not to be convicted," and went away. 
When the court reassembled a vote was taken by ballot. There 
were eight blanks and one "Not guilty," and so the finding was re- 
corded. 

Two months after, when the war was over and the army at Wash- 
ington, the president of the court-martial was invited to take supper 
at the Washington House, corner of Third and Pennsylvania ave- 
nues, by this man Morris. There were assembled every member of 
the court-martial besides citizen friends of the accused man from New 
Jersey. He then made the following statement : 

"When the war broke out my brother was in business at Atlanta. 
I learned he was in our front before Petersburg as a member of the 
Thirteenth Alabama. I had been detailed to go on advance picket 
duty during the following night. Afterward came the order for a 
'locomotive mechanic,' and the orderly sergeant changed my previous 
detail, sending me, the only man from the regiment, to assist in re- 
pairing the engine. Now, when you understand I had made arrange- 
ments with the rebel j)icket to meet my brother between the lines 
vou can imagine I had no taste for that locomotive detail. My chum 
looked almost like my twin brother. He knew a little something 
about machine Avork. I t<^ld liini the facts. He refused to go in my 
place unless the Captain would consent. It was asking a good deal 
of the Captain. Well, we swapped clothing and he went in my place. 
My brother missed me and came over to our side. I missed my 
brother and went over to their side. The Federal spy met me just as 



INCID EN TS F A RMY L TFE 97 

he testified, and I told him all the cock-and-bull stories I could think 
about the Union army. The assault on Fort Stedman was wholly 
unknown to me, but I got away in the melee and returned to my 
company. Then came the court-martial. Had I told my story as I 
do now, I should have been shot at sunrise. But the facts you now 
know." 



CALM AND CANDID. 

When General Sherman entered Goldsboro, N. C, after his march 
to the sea, on his way to join Grant before Richmond, there dwelt in 
that town a certain Colonel X. , who was one of the most rabid Con- 
federates that could be found. His house was situated in the north 
end of the city and at the end of a street, so that anyone coming into 
the town from the south would see his residence as soon as he would 
enter the south end of this same street. When General Sherman and 
staff came into the town, they came up this street and stopped just in 
front of Colonel X's residence ; the Colonel, who was out on his porch, 
greeted them, and an officer, saluting him, asked what his sentiments 
were in regard to the war. 

"I am a strong Union man," answered the Colonel, with a dry 
smile. 

"Ah, indeed," said the oflBcer, rather sarcastically; "and how long 
have you been a Union man ?" 

"I have been a Union man," said the Colonel, slowly, and as if con- 
sidering his words, "ever since I saw you and your staff come into the 
end of that street, about fifteen minutes ago." 

The candor of the Colonel's reply pleased General Sherman, and he 
ordered a guard around Colonel X's property, and during the entire 
stay of the army in Goldsboro, not a thing was molested in and around 
the premises. 



ALMOST SURRENDERED BY MISTAKE. 
During the assault of Port Hudson, by the Union forces, under 
General Banks, on May 25th, 1863, a strange incident happened that 



98 WAR ANECDOTES 

nearly resulted in the surrender of the Confederate forces which 
actually occurred some time later. At one moment a white flag showed 
above a rampart in the fort. A regiment of men in butternut grey 
filed out at an opening and stacked arms. 

"What does that mean ?" asked the Union troops nearest them. 

"We suppose we have surrendered," replied the men in butternut 
grey. 

If any Union officer of sufficiently high rank had been present to 
order the Union troops to enter the fort, the Port Hudson siege would 
have then and there ended. But there was no such officer near enough 
to the skirmish line. There was an interval of silence and waiting on 
the part of both armies. Then a Confederate officer, said to be Gen- 
eral Gardner himself, rode out of the opening and ordered the sur- 
rendering regiment back within their intrenchments. 

An incident, both ludicrous and tragic, caused the display of the 
white flag. A new York Colonel had been leading the advance 
column. Carried away by his enthusiasm, he had approached nearer 
and nearer the Confederate works until, turning suddenly, he found 
himself, single-handed, up to their very lines. Either to advance or 
retreat would have been certain death. At this emergency he tied 
his handkerchief to a stick in token of his personal surrender. A 
Confederate Colonel some distance away saw the handkerchief above 
the Confederate lines, fancied it was displayed by the Southern side, 
and at once got out his handkerchief and waved it, believing that the 
proper thing to do. The New York Colonel got away, but the Con- 
federate Colonel was court-martialed. 



TURNING COATS UNDER FIRE. 
During the battle of Shiloh a whole Confederate regiment became 
"turncoats" without in the least reflecting upon their loyalty or cast- 
ing any doubts upon their courage. It was the "Crescent" regiment 
from New Orleans, an organization composed of the young aristocracy 
of that city. In the beginning of the war regiments frequently chose 
their own uniform. That of the "Crescents" was a very becoming 



INCID EN TS OF ARMY L IFE 99 

one, but of a grey with a very pronounced blueish cast. In the morn- 
ing of the first day's fight the regiment formed part of Bragg's line. 
Presently Stewart's brigade, of the reserve, was brought up, just when 
the fight was very warm, and was halted not far in the rear of the 
"Crescents." Just then a mounted officer rode up to the Louisianians 
carrying a captured Union flag, which he waved aloft in triumph. 
The flag was plainly recognized by the reserve, and the blueish line of 
the "Crescents" was dimly seen through the smoke and underbrush. 
Bullets by hundreds were coming from that direction, and the infer- 
ence that they formed part of the Union line was natural and irre- 
sistible. An excitable line officer at the left of one of Stewart's regi- 
ments gave the order to fire, and was promptly answered by a volley 
from the left of the regiment, the companies on the right remaining 
quiet, because they plainly recognized the Confederate line just in 
their front. The "Crescents" were taken by surprise and lost several 
wounded. In a moment explanations were made and the firing ceased. 
But its lesson remained, and was taken advantage of at once. Inside 
of two minutes the handsome jackets of the swell regiment from New 
Orleans had been doffed, turned inside out and replaced. The change 
was startling, but effective. The regiment may have had a nonde- 
script appearance during the rest of the fight, but it was not again mis- 
taken for the enemy. 



PROFANITY EFFECTUALLY ItEBUKED. 

Kilpatrick, when a Lieutenant Colonel of cavalry, once met with a 
deserved rebuke for his profanity. Custer was with him when he rode 
up to a sergeant of the guard in his regiment, and swearing at him 
furiously, ordered him to attend to a certain matter that had been 
neglected. The man folded his arms and stood at bay, looking Kil- 
patrick squarely in the eye. "Do you hear me, you?" said 

the latter, "why don't you do as I tell you?" "When I receive a 
proper order I shall obey," said the soldier firmly; "the articles of war 
forbid you to address me in the language you have used." Custer 
"snickered right out in meeting," and said in a stage whisper ; "By 



100 WAE ANECDOTES 

, he's got you, Kil !" Colonel Kilpati'ick saw the point at once, 

and in a very manly way changed front, and apologized. "Ser- 
geant," said he, "you are right and I apologize. I should not have 
addressed you as I did." Then he gave his orders, the man touched 
his hat respectfully and turned away to fulfill the command and Kil- 
patrick rose many degrees in the estimation of his soldiers. 



GENERAL LEE'S PRAYER. 

When the war broke out General Lee owned one of the largest 
plantations in the Old Dominion, at Arlington, across the river from 
Washington. His slaves were numbered by the hundreds, and they 
every one loved their master. General Lee was one of those who 
watched the approaching conflict with sorrow, and it was only when 
his native State seceded that he reluctantly gave in to what he con- 
sidered his duty, and joined his fortunes with the Confederacy. He 
was on the wrong side, and when he sheathed his sword and returned 
horiie he found his property confiscated. It was converted into the 
famous National Cemetery for Union soldiers, and thousands upon 
thousands were interred there. 

It was a severe stroke for General Lee. The war seemed like a 
cruel dream. Those who knew him before the struggle saw how 
changed he had become. He was a sad man. His neighbors felt how 
hard it was for the magnificent plantation to be taken away from him, 
and often watched him with interest as he passed by in the direction 
of the soldier's burying ground. An old planter, one night coming 
along the road by the place, saw a cloaked figure moving about among 
the graves. Although surprised and somewhat terrified, he stopped to 
watch it. It walked around a short time, and finally leaned against a 
great tree, and stood motionless, only now and then turning the head 
as if in hunt of some object. For an hour the mysterious being 
remained in that attitude, and then fell upon its knees, and, clasping 
its hands, turned its face upward in prayer. The moon was flooding 
everything with light, aud the planter, drawn irresistibly on, crept up 
where he could view the face. Just then the long cloak was gathered 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 101 

around the person, and the ghost-like stranger disappeared over a 
neighboring hill. 

The planter hurried home and told the story. Next night at 12 
o'clock he repaired to the locality just iu time to see the same cloaked 
figure start up and disappear over the hill. The planter's curiosity 
was by this time aroused to the utmost. A plan was concerted to find 
who the stranger was. On this night three of the planters of the 
locality went at about 10 o'clock to the spot where the figure had been 
seen before. They climbed to the top of a tree near by, and there, 
hidden by the branches, patiently sat and waited. Shortly before 
midnight the identical figure, all covered with the cloak, made its ap- 
pearance. The man seemed to be iu great distress. Silently he stood 
and gazed around, and finally, throwing the cloak aside, knelt in 
prayer. The watchers looked, and there, in the moonlight, were the 
upturned features of Robert E. Lee. The mystery was solved. The 
old General was visiting the home where he spent so many happy 
years before he was made the victim of a cruel war. Night after 
night he had been coming there, praying among the graves of those 
against whom he had fought. 



THE BIGGEST ARMY MAIL. 
Some of the army mails were very heavy, but they were all dwarfed 
by the mail sent by Sherman's army from Savannah after the famous 
march from Atlanta. Not a letter had been suflfered to pass through 
the lines after the army started on its campaign, and when the mail 
bags were tumbled on the steamer for New York they had 86,000 let- 
ters in them. Postal clerks usually do not pay much attention to a 
letter except as to its direction, but the boys in the New York office 
talked sentiment over these, and doubled their speed to send the mis- 
sives that bore glad tidings to wives and sweethearts, or to loving old 
mothers, far away from their boys. The closing time of each outgoing 
mail was stretched to its utmost limit iu order to get in a few more 
letters to the girls and women that were waiting for news from the 
camp and field. There was a strange similarity in the hand-writing 



102 WAR ANECDOTES 

of the directions, indicating that many of the letters had received their 
superscriptions at lieadquarters. Tom Clarke, one of the handsomest 
men ever iu the service, and superintendent of the railway service, 
remarked that he had never before seen such a big extra mail dis- 
tributed without growling, but on the contrary, the men seemed eager 
to send the letters home, and proud to bear a part in re-establishing 
communication between the boys in the army and the anxious ones in 
writing. 



SAVED FROM A MOB. 

On the night of President Lincoln's assassination the indignation in 
Washington was terrible. It was not generally known till after 
midnight, when the people gathered upon the street corners in dis- 
cussion. The more they discussed it the more excited they became. 
The city was moved to its utmost depths and the mob spirit soon 
became uppermost. Just then some one recalled the fact that a large 
lot of Confederate prisoners had been brought iu that evening and 
were confined in the old Capitol. "Hang 'em!" "shoot 'em!" "burn 
'em !" became the cry, and to carry this threat into execution prepara- 
tions were made. Kopes were procured, and everything was made 
ready for a general massacre of the helpless Confederate prisoners, 
who knew nothing on earth of the occurrences of the night. At 
that time General Green Clay (Smith, who afterward, in 1876, was 
the Prohibition candidate for President, was a representative in Con- 
gress from Kentucky. He saw what was going on, witnessed the 
preparations being made to usher into eternity the helpless and inno- 
cent Confederates in the old Capitol, and realizing what a terrible deed 
it would be for a mob to hang, shoot, or kill three or four hundred 
men on the streets of Washington, who were innocent of any 
complicity in the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, procured the service 
of two or three friends to hold the mob in hand by speaking until he 
could see Secretary Stanton, and provide some means, if possible, to 
protect the prisoners from the rage of the mob. His friends responded 
promptly, mounted a box on the streets, and addressed the mob. When 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 108 

one said all that he could say, another followed him, and so on, occu- 
pying half an hour, perhaps an hour ; thus giving General Smith 
time to see Mr. Stanton. 

General Smith ran to the War Office and rushed in, but found 
Mr. Stanton's private office door locked. He knocked again 
and again without a response. Finally, General Smith made himself 
known and was admitted. Mr. Stanton was overcome with excitement 
and was armed. General Smith told him briefly of what was going 
on in the streets and begged for troops to protect the unarmed 
prisoners from the mob. Mr. Stanton told him "to go and do what 
bethought best." General Smith left in a run, soon found a battalion 
of troops on the streets, took charge of and rushed them to the 
Capitol, arriving just in time to place them between its walls and the 
enraged mob — ^just in time to save from a terrible death some three or 
four hundred helpless Confederate prisoners, who knew nothing of 
the assassination or the danger in which they were themselves placed 
because of it, till next morning, when they looked out of the windows 
and saw files of soldiers in the streets, with fixed bayonets, artillery 
unlimbered and loaded, cavalry with drawn sabers, and a mob whose 
very look was appalling. 



THROUGH A SLEEPING ARMY. 
Pegram's advance into Kentucky in tke early spring of 1863 caused 
a hasty falling back of the somewhat scattered Union forces in the 
Blue-grass region, and brought about a curious incident, nothing less 
than the passage of a couple of Union regiments through a sleeping 
camp of Confederates of several times their number. General Q. A. 
Gilmore, in command of the Union forces in that section, being short 
of cavalry, mounted several infantry regiments, among them the 
Forty-fourth Ohio, Colonel "Sam" Gilbert. It was guarding the 
approaches near Mount Vernon and Wild Cat, Ky., while Wolford's 
cavalry were guarding the lines from Somerset to Burkesville. On 
the 22nd of March, Wolford's lines were broken in several places and 
he began to fall back. Pegram had begun his raid, and he moved on 



104 TT^-B ANECDOTES 

Carter's position at Danville, the latter falling back behind the 
Kentucky river at Camp Nelson. Colonel Gilbert was at Mount 
Vernon, when he was ordered to fall back to Lancaster and be ready to 
join Carter's retreating troops to Camp Dick Robinson, south of the 
Kentucky river, these orders being given in ignorance of the fact that 
Pegram had obliged Carter to go on to the other side of that river, 
leaving the Fourty-fourth Ohio and a battalion of Wolford's First 
Kentucky Cavalry "out in the cold." Gilbert enjoyed greatly the 
prospect of a brush with the enemy, and pushed on. Eeaching 
Lancaster just before sundown he found a Confederate force there 
which offered no resistance to his passage, but fell back and allowed 
him to take the road to Camp Dick Robinson without molestation. 
Gilbert wondered at this, but not knowing that by that time 
Pegram and not Carter occupied that position, he thanked his lucky 
stars and pushed on, supposing the road to be clear. He soon found 
that he was followed, and a part of Wolford's battalion was placed 
as rear guard, the rest going in front. Suddenly a squad of Wolford's 
men in front ran into a picket post, about two miles from Camp 
Dick Robinson. No shots were fired, for at first it was a mutual mis- 
take. The Confederates thought it was a part of their own force 
from Lancaster, w^hile Wolford's men thought the pickets were of 
Carter's force at Camp Dick Robinson. The latter suspected the 
* truth first, and quickly profited by it, holding a pistol to each picket's 
head and summoning them to "surrender without noise." As soon as 
Gilbert found out the true status of the case he decided on a plan of 
action bold to the extreme of daring, but which gave at least a 
promise of safety. To go back was to meet a force of 500 ; and 
though he would not have hesitated to fight them with his own force 
of 700, yet the battle would be sure to arouse Pegram's vastly superior 
force, and between the two bodies of enemies, and on a road which 
gave no escape save across the country, the chances of capture or 
annihilation would amount to almost a certainty, To go forward and 
trust to chance to pass Pegram's camp, which it was only reasonable 
to suppose was sound asleep, was his best chance, and he determined 



• 



iNClDENtS OF ARMY LIFE 105 

to take it. It had been raining, hut the rain had ceased and only a 
heavy mist was falling. The men all wore heavy rubber ponchos. 
For a few minutes the column stopped, the ponchos were removed and 
the guns freshly primed ; the files were dressed up, and everything 
done to insure or further the chances of success. The rear-guard was 
brought up and told to close up on the column. The crisis had come. 
"Don't fire or yell, unless you are fired upon. In that case, charge 
at once and directly upon the enemy, and let eveiy man use the 
battle cry — 'Lewisburg !' " The column started once more on its 
perilous journey. 

Slowly the files moved, but in perfect order ; each man grasping 
his gun in readiness for action, and almost holding his breath in ex- 
pectation. Every soldier now knew that a column was close after 
him and that a sleeping Confederate camp lay immediately before 
him. He may not have known that this road, leading through that 
camp, was the only route to the Confederate lines from this section ; 
but the officers and the Kentucky boys knew it. Soon a row of 
horses were descried through the darkness, tied to the fence upon the 
left, but not a man was awake ; or, if awake, probably soothed him- 
self with the reflection that another column of Pegram's force was 
arriving, and returned to slumber again. Further on, both sides of 
the road were lined with horses tied to the fences, but their riders, 
too, were worn out and tired and were soundly sleeping. Reaching 
the point of intersection of the Danville and Lancaster roads, the 
point known in history as "Camp Dick Robinson," the advance file 
of Wolford's cavalry was accosted by a sentinel with, "Boys, what 
regiment?" A cavalryman responded quickly with the name and 
number of the command that was known to be in the rear, and find- 
ing himself close up to the sentry he raised his long saber, which he 
was carrying drawn, and dropped it upon the sentinel's head with a 
"dull, heavy thud" that extinguished life instantly and without 
further noise. The head of the column turned to the right and 
passed on toward Camp Nelson, while a platoon of the Kentuckians 
halted at the junction to preserve the column intact in case of an 



106 WAR ANECDOTES 

alarm or an attack. Whichever way the men gazed, their eyes fell 
upon horses by the roadside. The Confederate army was literally 
asleep. They were taking their first rest since crossing the Cumber- 
land mountains, and little did they dream that while they slumbered 
a regiment of " Yanks" was riding unmolested through their camp. 

Two miles beyond Camp Dick Robinson the advance ran uj^on and 
dispersed the enemy's advance pickets, taking a few prisoners, but 
thoroughly alarming the Confederate camp. Presently they met and 
passed Carter's pickets near the Kentucky river. The column then 
passed on across the river, and, finding plenty of "top rails," soon 
had glowing fires and food and rest. They had done a deed that 
could scarcely be credited, and for which neither General nor news- 
paper nor "historian" has ever given them credit. 

The reader will ask why Gilbert did not stop to ruin Pegram when 
once inside his sleeping camp. Gilbert had in all about 700 men 
with him, including Wolford's boys. Of these at least 500 were 
armed with nothing but long Enfield rifles, unwieldy on horseback. 
Pegram had nearly 3,500 men. Of these 2,500 were at Camp Dick 
Robinson and asleep ; 500 were not over two miles away picketing the 
Danville road, while another 500 were close ujjon Gilbert's rear, and 
would soon be down upon him. All these men were armed with 
Sharpe's carbines, Colt's revolvers and sabers. They could do first- 
class fighting either on foot or on horse-back, while 500 of the Union 
boys could only fight well, armed as they were, on foot. 



LINCOLN IN JEFF DAVIS' CHAIR. 

Colonel Lew Weitzel relates the following incident in President 
Lincoln's career, which he believes has never been made public be- 
fore : "After the fall of Richmond and the flight of the Confederate 
government, my brother Godfrey was placed in charge of the city. 
His headquarters wei-e in the Capitol, and President Davis' Cabinet- 
room was kept just as it was when last occupied. President Lincoln 
arrived the day after the occupation and called at the Capitol, and 
several officers, among the number myself, accompanied him through 



INCIDEN TS OF ARMY L IFF \ 07 

the building. When we reached the Cabinet-room my brother said : 
'Mr. Lincoln, this is the chair which has been so long occupied by 
President Davis.' He pulled it from the table and motioned the 
President to sit down. Mr. Lincoln's face took on an extra look of care 
and melancholy. He looked at it a moment and slowly approached 
and wearily sat down. It was an hour of exultation with us soldiers; 
we felt that the Avar was ended and we knew that all over the North 
bells were pealing, cannon booming, and the people were delirious 
with joy over the prospect of peace. I expected to see the President 
manifest some spirit of triumph as he sat in the seat so long occupied 
by the Confederate government; but his great head fell into his broad 
hands, and a sigh that seemed to come from the soul of a nation es- 
caped his lips and saddened every man present. His mind seemed 
to be traveling back through the dark years of the war, and he was 
counting the cost in treasure, life and blood that made it possible for 
him to sit there. As he arose without a word and left the room 
slowly and sadly, tears involuntarily came to the eyes of every man 
present, and we soldiers realized that we had not done all the suffer- 
ing nor made all the sacrifices." 



LIVING HIGH ON A PAPER OF NEEDLES. 

"After the battle of Chickamauga," writes an ex-Confederate, "one 
of 'our mess' found a needle-case which had belonged to some poor 
fellow, probably among the killed. He did not place much value 
upon the contents, although there was a paper of number eight 
needles, several buttons, and a skein or two of thread, cut at each end 
and neatly braided, so that each thread could be smoothly drawn out. 
He put the whole thing in his breast pocket, and thought no more 
about it. But one day, while out foraging for himself and his mess, 
he found himself near a house where money could have procured a 
hue meal of fried chicken, corn pone and buttermilk, besides a small 
supply to carry back to camp. But Confederate soldiers' purses were 
generally as empty as their stomachs, and, in this instance, the lady of 
the house did not offer to give away her nice dinner. While the poor 



108 WAB ANECDOTES 

fellow was inhaling the enticing odor and feeling desperately hungry, 
a girl rode up to the gate on horseback, and bawled out to another 
girl inside the house: 

" 'O, Cindy, I rid over to see if you couldn't lend me a needle. I 
broke the last one I had to-day, and pap says thar ain't nary 'nother 
to be bought in the country hereabouts.' 

"Cindy declared she was in the same fix, and couldn't finish her 
new homespun dress for the same reason. 

"The soldier just then had an idea. He retired to a little distance, 
pulled out his case and stuck two needles in the front of his jacket, 
then went back and offered one of them, with his best bow, to the girl 
on the horse. Right away the lady of the house offered to trade for 
the one remaining, and the result was a plentiful dinner for himself, 
and, in consideration of a thread or two of silk, a full haversack and 
canteen. After this our mess was well supplied, and our forager 
began to look sleek and fat. The secret of his success did not leak 
out till long afterward, when he astonished the boys by declaring that 
he 'had been living like a fighting cock on a paper of needles and 
two skeins of silk.'" 



AN ASTONISHING SHOT. 

One of the remarkable casualties of the war occurred during the 
siege of Port Hudson, in the killing of a Union soldier some distance 
in the rear of the Twenty-first Indiana Volunteers, acting then as 
heavy artillery, by a shell fired in the other direction. Sergeant 
Rufus Dooley, who was sighting the gun and noting the eflfect of the 
shots, says: 

"The immense shell — more like a big iron nail keg than a shot — 
went straight to the mark aimed at, and exploded just as it struck 
the hard packed face of the Confederate work. In fact it timed the 
explosion so well that the reaction was all one way ; it hardly 'fazed' 
the work, and all the pieces flew back to us. One big piece sailed 
high above our heads and struck in a hollow behind us. I only 
watched it till I saw it clear of us and went on with my business, 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 109 

thinking, though, that we were a little too near the mark for com- 
fort. Soon after we learned that the big piece had struck a man who 
was down in the hollow and crushed his skull." 



CONFEDERATE MONEY. 

When the first issue of the Confederate money was scattered among 

the people it commanded a slight premium. It then scaled down as 

fuUows: 

Worth. 

June, 1861 90c 

December 1, 1861 80c 

December 15, 1861 75c 

February 1, 1862 60c 

February 1, 1863 20c 

June, 1863 8c 

January, 1864 5c 

November, 1864 4Jc 

January, 1865 2Jc 

April 1, 1865 Uc 

After that date it took from $800 to $1,000 in Confederate money 
to buy a one-dollar greenback, until the end came. 



''JOHN BROWN'S BODY!" 

A member of the Twelfth Massachusetts Regiment claims the 
honor of originating one of the most famous refrains of the war, as 
follows : 

"The tune of 'John Brown' was adapted from a camp-meeting 
tune, 'Say, brothers, will you meet us?' This, in turn, was mod- 
eled from a song written for a fire company — 'Say, bummers, Avill 
you meet us ? ' The words originated with members of the ' Tiger 
Battalion,' Massachusetts Volunteer Militia; and as these members 
subsequently enlisted in the Twelfth Massachusetts Volunteer In- 
fantry (Webster Regiment), we naturally claim words and music of 
the 'John Brown : ong.' It first appeared in April, 1861, in a 
quartet of the 'Tigers' — Jenkins, Edgerly, Purnette and John 
Brown — and was simply a sort of joke on the name of the last men- 
tioned. He was a Scotchman, and failed to see any point in the 



110 WAR ANECDOTES 

witticism, which, of course, only made it more lasting. The Twelfth 
Massachusetts sang it in Boston harbor, at Fort Warren, were the 
first to sing it in New York City, July, 1861, where it made a sensa- 
tion, and continued chanting it until it had become so common prop- 
erty as to have lost all novelty. We claim the adaptation of the tune 
and these words : 

John Brown's body lies moldering in the grave, 
His soul goes marching on. 
Glory, Hallelujah. 

"Our regimental band (Matlaxid's, of Brocton, Mass.) was the first 
to arrange and play the tune. Two of the quartet are now living in 
Boston, Mass. John Brown was drowned in Virginia, June, 1862, 
and Jenkins' whereabouts are unknown. All were sergeants in the 
Twelfth Massachusetts Volunteers." 



FOLLOWING THE CRACKERS. 

The projected movement of the Union gunboats and trarrsports past 
the Vicksburg batteries was supposed to have been kept a profound 
secret. Especial pains had been taken to conceal the preparations, 
even from the gunboats' crews, lest the wind should blow the ncAvs to 
the Confederates at Vicksburg. 

On the afternoon of that day a private soldier, a merry, devil-may- 
care looking Irishman, presented himself at McPherson's headquarters 
with an urgent request to see the General. Everybody was admitted 
to see McPherson, and the private was soon in his presence, with a pro- 
fusion of bows and military salutes. 

"Well, my man, what can I do for you ?" asked McPherson. 

"I've called, Gineral, to ax the privilege of going down the river 
wid the thransports." 

"Transports!" exclaimed McPherson. "Who told you any trans- 
ports were going down the river ?" 

"Well, Gineral, nobody towld me. But I've kept me weather eye 
open, an' I see the motions goin' on wid the boats, and I've called to 
put in me applicashun to go in 'em." 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE HI 

"But even if they do go, they'll be shelled all the way past Vicks- 
burg. You might get your head blown off. It's dangerous." 

"Yis, I know, Gineral. But, beggin' your pardon, sir, I've noticed 
that where the crackers go the byes always follow, an' I've made up 
me mind I'd a good dale rather ride than walk." 

The Irishman got his wish. 



THE FIRST UNION FLAG CAPTURED. 

The first Union flag captured in the war was taken about daylight 
on the morning of July 19th, 1861, from Lieutenant Shurtliefl", by 
Colonel J. M. Sandige, of New Orleans, then a member of a Virginia 
cavalry company, who, the night before, had been ordered forward on 
the Yorktown road toward Newport, then occupied by the Union 
forces. In the darkness a Union force was heard approaching, and in 
ignorance of its strength, it was allowed to pass by Sandige's squad, 
but when returning in the early morning it was ambushed and nearly 
all of them killed or wounded. Among the latter was Lieutenant 
Shurtlieff, who was carrying a small L^niou flag. This was used as a 
bandage and so was discolored with his blood. Shurtlieff" was taken 
to Richmond and the flag was for some time displayed in the office of 
Secretary Benjamin, of the Confederate cabinet, as the first flag cap- 
tured in the war. Afterward it was returned to Sandige, who kept it 
until after the war, when he returned it to Shurtlieff, then a well 
known artist of New York. 



A QUEER CHARGE OF DESERTION. 
In 1861, when hundreds of volunteer regiments were being organ- 
ized in haste throughout the North, there was, through the inexper- 
ience or ignorance of the organizers, great confusion. Scores of things 
were done on the spur of the moment that would not bear investiga- 
tion. It was the rule that a company to be mustered in must number 
so many men, and in not a few regiments it was the custom for com- 
pany commanders whose companies were not up to the standard to 
borrow men for that occasion only. On the day appointed for muster 



11 2 W A R A N E CD U TES 

the Captain would arrange to have ten or fifteen men selected from the 
other companies report to him under secret orders. Fictitious names, 
to which these men answered, would be put upon the rolls and the men 
from the other companies would take their place in line with the men 
of the company to be mustered, would be sworn in and the mere 
formality ended. 

No one thought then that there could be any after-clap in the way 
of serious complications or consequences, but on the first report made 
to the headquarters the men had to be accounted for. If the company 
had been recruited up to the standard, the real name of the recruits 
had to be put on the roll in place of the fictitious ones carried on 
muster day. The question was how to get rid of the bogus members, 
and the easiest way out of the difficulty was to mark them deserters. 
In a good many cases this was done with no thought of wronging any 
one, but marking or reporting a man as a deserter was a serious busi- 
ness, as many of the participants in this little scheme of deception 
learned to their sorrow. 

Old Major Burbanks, of the regular army, mustered a great many 
of the volunteer regiments in 1861. He had a quick eye and good 
memory. In one case a man sent over from another company answered to 
the name of Thomas Tinkerman. He had a smooth, girlish complexion, 
and a very impressive blue eye. A few days after that he was in line 
with his own company for muster and was on the rolls there under his 
own name. The Major remembered the face and the eyes, and without 
explanation or remark that would in any way indicate his purpose, he 
ordered the man to stand out of the ranks. 

At the close of the proceedings the blue-eyed man found himself 
under arrest, and two Captains of that regiment were in a panic. It 
was deemed advisable to get the man known as Thomas Tinkerman 
out of the way, and the next morning he was reported as a deserter 
on both rolls. When the regiment was ordered on the field he joined 
his company and served creditably for nearly a year. On one occasion 
he was on guard at division headquarters, when who should accost him 
but Major Burbanks. The mustering officer charged the blue eyes 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 118 

with desertion and unsoldierly conduct, while the owner of the blue 
eyes insisted that he never had deserted, and that he had never com- 
mitted an act of which any soldier should be ashamed. This was the 
truth, but it took a year to establish the fact, and in the meantime 
Thomas Tinkerman played the part of the artful dodger. 



THINGS SOLDIERS CARRIED. 

Colonel Frederick Martin thus discourses pleasantly about the things 
soldiers would sometimes appropriate and carry along : 

"There were lots of funny things about the war, now that you think 
of them when the tears are dried away, and about the funniest thmgs 
I recall, were the the queer articles the boys used to pick up on the 
march, and the eccentric way they'd tote 'em along to finally adorn 
some ditch on the wayside. Stragglers were the worst at this, but all 
the fellows were bad enough. Whenever the army went through a 
fine family residence, the boys would capture what struck each as most 
attractive, and some of their tastes were peculiar. They had a great 
weakness for cradles. You may ask me what a man treading his way 
to the front wanted with a mahogany cradle, and I'm blest if I know, 
but they took 'em. 

"Now, you'd suppose that any ordinary idiot would just look at that 
cradle as it lay in the road and pass on, but they wouldn't. Some one 
would be certain to pick it up and lug it a few miles further into the 
Confederacy. 

"I recall one cradle that traveled 100 miles on blue backs before it 
went to increase the blaze of a mess fire. Somehow, they seemed to 
think vaguely that there was a chance of getting the infant soother 
home, but they never succeeded. 

"The furniest thing I ever saw carried was a looking-glass five feet 
high and two feet wide. I saw it first in the parlor of a central Vir- 
ginia mansion, and next day on a soldier's back, headed for Peters- 
burg. Then I lost sight of it for two days, and found it propped up 
against a tree forty miles further along. The next day I saw it travel- 
ing tenderly on a straggler's back. He had his gun in one hand, and 



114 WAE ANECDOTES 

had somehow strapped the glass so he could get along without holdinsr 
fast to it. 

"Well, this fellow must have got tired, for the next day a third 
had it, and on the next a fourth. This chap toted it into the lines at 
Petersburg. He sat it up against a tree, took a long, regretful look 
at full length of his shabby self, and turned away with a sigh. 

"It was just as well that he did. The next day along came a minie 
bullet, buzzing like a hornet, and hit the glass square in the center, 
and smashed it into a frame full of cracks radiating from around the 
hole. 

"The heavier and more useless things were, the more they clung to 
them, even combining to escort pianos into untimely graves in mud- 
holes ; but the man who could steal a rocking chair was a white-robed 
angel in his own mind, and the object of universal envy. 

"Another funny thing was to have the sutler strike camp loaded 
up with condensed milk. I've seen a whole regiment sitting on a 
fence, each man with a milk can in one hand, dipping out the sweet, 
thick stuflF with his forefinger, and licking it oft with an expression of 
beatitude that would make a Raphaelite saint look sick in com- 
parison." 



HOW SHERMAN GOT A DRINK. 

When General Sherman's army was at Goldsboro, N. C, he made 
a visit to the headquarters of General Howard. While there he felt 
the need of a small draught of whisky to drive off the malarial effects 
of the climate on his system. Now, all the officers of the army knew 
of General Howard's rigid temperance proclivities, and were strict in 
their respect for them. General Shermau knew there was no whisky 
in General Howard's quarters, and therefore did not mention his wants 
to the latter. Presently Dr. John Moore, the Medical Director, came 
in, and after a little conversation, General Sherman gave him the 
wink and said, "Doctor, have you a seidlitz powder in your quarters?" 
The Doctor answered that he had. General Howard spoke up and 
said: "General Sherman, it is not necessary to go to the Doctor's 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 115 

quarters, I have plenty of Seidlitz powders here, and good ones, too; 
I will get you one." If there was anything in General Howard's 
quarters that General Sherman did not want, it was a seidlitz powder, 
and therefore he said: "Never mind. General! Give yourself no 
trouble." Howard was then getting the powder and glasses of water 
ready. "I will be going by Moore's quarters after awhile." Dr. Moore 
was a great wag, and quickly took in the situation and became a party 
to the joke. He said to General Sherman: "By the way. General, I 
don't think I have , a seidlitz powder in my quarters, and you had 
better take the one General Howard has." By this time Howard had 
the powder all ready for use, and handed the glasses to Sherman. 
Rather than offend Howard by saying he meant whisky, he drank the 
foaming stuif down, much to his own disgust, to the satisfaction of 
General Howard, and to the amusement of the staff. 



HE WAS OBEDIENT, BUT SLOW. 
A Southern Army surgeon tells the following story of the battle of 
Chickamauga : "The hottest part of the fight was on Saturday and 
Sunday. On Saturday night Ave were expecting to renew the fight the 
next day. I turned to a corporal, saying : 'Andrew, look in that am- 
bulance, and you will find a two-gallon jug. Take it down in yonder 
ravine and bring it full of water. If any of the boys get hurt to-mor- 
row they might suffer for water.' He took the jug and went off, and 
I neither heard nor saw any more of Andrew till Tuesday, after the 
fight was over. He came up almost breathless vnth the jug of water. 
'Doctor,' says he, 'I've found the water at last ; I would have brought 
it if it had taken me three weeks to find it !'" 



PREFERRED BEING A BABY, 
At a recent reunion the following story was told by one who was at 
Gettysburg: 

"In my regiment, when the bullets were falling like hail, and the 
shells were shrieking and bursting over our heads in fl way to make 
the bravest heart tremble, a private dropped out of the ranks and 



IIQ WAR ANECDOTES 

skulked back to the rear. He was well under way when, unfor- 
tunately for him, he was met by General Slocura coming to the front. 

" 'What are you doing here? Get back to your post,' the General 
shouted. 

"The poor fellow stopped still and trembled like a leaf, but made 
no reply. 

" 'Get back to your post, you miserable coward; aren't you ashamed 
of yourself to be skulking back here when you should be in the front 
with your brave comrades?' 

"Still the man made no reply, but began to cry like a year-old 
infant. 

" 'You infamous, sneaking coward,' shouted the infuriated General, 
'get back to your post; I'll ride you down like a dog. Why, you are 
nothing but a baby!' 

"I-I-I'll t-t-t-tell you what, G-g-general,' said the blubbering fellow, 
'I'd g-g-give anything just n-n-now if I was a b-baby, aud i-i-if I had 
my ch-ch-choice I'd r-r- rather be a female b- b-baby !' " 



CAUGHT BY BUTLER'S YANKEE TRICK. 

General Butler's first desire on taking command of New Orleans 
after Jts capture by Farragut was to put the city in a proper sanitary 
condition. Almost everybody who owned a horse and cart had either 
fled the city or was hiding, as terrible stories had been circulated about 
the "one-eyed Cyclops" of the Union army. One day while the Gen- 
eral and his staff were seated on the piazza in front of his headquar- 
ters a dilapidated-looking team was about passing. The mule was 
spavined, broken down and resembled a moving hat-rack more than 
anything else; the harness was bits of rope and the cart an ancient, 
tumble-down sugar hogshead on wheels. Butler stopped the driver, 
who was one of the "po' white trash," and asked him what he would 
take for the team. "Fifty dollars cash in gold," said the driver. 
"You team is worth $200," said General Butler, and he directed his 
chief of staff to give him that amount for the whole rig, which was 
moved around to the headquarters yard. The fortunate driver went 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 117 

on his way with his money. The next morning about two hundred 
horses and carts were drawn up in front of headquarters, their 
drivers besieging General Butler to buy them. He confiscated the 
whole lot and put the men to work cleaning up the streets of New 
Orleans. 



"HOW ARE YOU, IKEf" 

Isaac Littleton, a member of the One Hundred and Sixteenth Ohio 
Infantry, was a good soldier, barring one great fault. He was not 
reliable, and told a story with so much relish that he could actually 
retell it without any of the contradictions which afford so much 
pleasure to a lawyer to discover. Isaac was a butcher by trade, and 
was detailed to slaughter beef for the brigade or to superintend the 
work. This gave him a new field for adventure, and he improved it 
in his own inimitable way. One day he came to the regimental camp 
mounted on a grey mule. Some of the boys asked him where he got 
the mule. We will let him tell his story in his own words : 

"That mule has a history. I went out with a party of the Fourth 
Pennsylvania to capture some cattle in Luray Gap. We secured 
sixty-seven head of cattle and were quietly returning when a whole 
company of Mosby's guerrillas charged on us. I had no gun, but I 
had two revolvers, and as I rode along the line I brought down a man 
at every pop. I kept on till I had dropped twelve men. My revolvers 
being empty I took a saber from a dead guerrila and ran it through 
the body of the Captain of the company. Then I found two revolvers 
on his person, and armed with these and mounted on his grey mule, 
the Confederates took me for their Captain. I returned, and at every 
pop I dropped a man until I had emptied twelve more saddles. By 
this time the guerrillas were whipped, but there was only five men 
left of the Fourth Pennsylvania. Before the fight began I had driven 
the cattle into a pen, and now we found them all safe. The Corporal 
thanked me for my presence of mind and bravery, and said he owed 
his life to me. He asked me if he could do anything for me. I told 
him I only wanted the grey mule and the guerrilla Captain's pistols. 



118 WAE ANECDOTES 

He said I won them and ought to keep them. On our way to camp 
we met General Sheridan and his staff. The General stopped us and 
asked me where I got the mule, I told him the whole story and 
showed him the revolvers. The General took out his note-book and 
asked me : 

" 'What's your name?' 

" 'Littleton.' 

" 'But what's your first name?' 

" 'Isaac' 

" 'What Company?' 

" 'Company E.' 

" 'What regiment?' 

" 'One Hundred and Sixteenth Ohio Infantry.' 

" 'What Brigade?' 

" 'Second Brigade.' 

" 'What Division?' 

" 'Third Division.' 

" 'What Corps?' 

" 'Eighth Corps.' 

" 'Well, Ike,' said the General, 'ray name is Phil; you must call 
me Phil, and I will call you Ike. I would like to see you at my 
headquarters. When can you come? ' 

"I told him I had to attend to the cattle and slaughter them for the 
brigade. 

" 'Well,' said he, 'come to-night if possible; come on that famous 
grey mule.' 

"I was so busy I could not go until 10 o'clock that night. I found 
the General sitting up waiting for me. As soon as I entered he jumped 
up, stretched out his hand, and said : 'How are you, Ike?' I answered : 
'How are you, Phil?' We talked over matters and drank a little 
wine and parted good friends. He told me whenever I came near 
his headquarters to be sure and call." 

The boys were so delighted with his story that they told it over and 
over until every man in the company knew it. Added to this every 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 119 

unlucky fellow who rode either horse or mule past the camp was 
greeted with, "How are you, Ike?" 

The whole division and at last the corps got hold of it and even the 
officer of the day was hailed, "How are you, Ike?" It actually 
required an order from corps headquarters to stop the foolish questiou. 



A SOLDIER'S BEST ACT. 

A soldier of Morgan's command, distinguished alike for his courage 
and modesty, being asked what was the best act of his soldier-life, re- 
plied: "At Augusta, Ky., the Union troops were sweeping the streets 
with shot, seemingly as thick as rain-drops, when a mother on the op- 
posite side of the street from me stood wringing her hands in agonized 
anxiety, regarding her little child that toddled in the middle of the 
roadway, unconscious of danger and apparently enjoying the music of 
the whistling 'minies.' Forgetful of possible consequences to myself, 
I sprang into the street, seized the little innocent prattler, and un- 
harmed, untouched by bullet, placed it in its mother's ai-ma. God 
saw the act and smiled, and I live to tell the incident." 



SHERIDAN'S QUAKER HEROINE. 

A modest little Quaker woman in the redemption agency of the 
Treasury Department wears a gold watch on which is inscribed: 
"Presented to Rebecca L. Wright, Sept. 19, '67, by Gen. Phil. H. 
Sheridan. A memento of Sept. 19, '64." The watch is attached to 
a long gold chain, fastened at the neck with a clasp representing a 
horse-shoe, a military gauntlet and stirrups. Hanging to a short end 
is a sword, a key and a seal. The wearer of this is a lady of fifty, 
and she appears ten or fifteen years younger. Her manner is quiet, 
and her face expresses amiability and the gentler womanly qualities. 
There is nothing strong-minded or warlike about her bearing — noth- 
ing to suggest the wearing of military honors. Yet no soldier who 
followed Sheridan into Winchester on the 19th of September, 1864, 
did a greater service than did this little woman on that occasion. It 
was due to her that Winchester was captured, and Sheridan always 



120 WAR ANECDOTES 

spoke with pride of his "little Quaker girl." She was little more than 
a girl when he first met her. 

When Sheridan was lying before Winchester in 1864 a family of 
Quakers lived within the town, then held by the Confederate forces. 
They were one of the very few Union families who remained in the 
place during the war. As Quakers they were opposed to war, and 
by the teachings of their faith they were loyal. During the heat of 
the contest the father, an old man, was made prisoner by the Con- 
federates, and died from confinement and hardships. The mother, 
one daughter, and a little boy lived together, and were much re- 
spected, notwithstanding their want of sympathy with war and re- 
bellion. 

The daughter was Rebecca Wright, and she it was who furnished 
General Sheridan with information concerning General Early's forces 
which led to the successful battle of September 19. She has been 
married since then and is now Mrs. Bonsai. She is a refined and 
very intelligent woman, and must have been a remarkably pretty girl 
when she risked her life to serve the cause of the Union. She had 
never seen General Sheridan at that time, and, knew nothing of him. 

"I was engaged in some household duties," she said, in recounting 
her story. "It was about noon on the 16th of September, '64. I was 
interrupted by a knock at the door, and, on opening it, I found an 
intelligent looking colored man, who asked to see Miss Wright. 
There were two Misses Wright living in Winchester, and I asked 
which he wanted. 'Miss Rebecca,' he said; 'the other is in sympathy 
with the Confederates.' He would not say what he wanted, but, af- 
ter looking about carefully, asked to be allowed to speak with me 
alone. I Avas impressed by his manner, and took him into another 
room. He at once closed the door, and I became alarmed, as my 
mother and I were alone in the house. But he immediately said he 
had a note from General Sheridan, who wanted me to give him all 
the information I could concerning the Confederate forces. He took 
from his mouth a little wad of tinfoil, which proved to be a letter 
from General Sheridan written on tissue paper. The colored man 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 121 

said he had carried it all the way in his mouth, and had been in- 
structed to swallow it if molested by the Confederate pickets. He 
was engaged in carrying provisions through the lines for the use of 
the town, and General Sheridan had secured his services in this 
mattei'. I was taken by surprise and did not know what to do. I 
did not know how far I could trust the man, fearing that there might 
be a trick to get me into trouble, and I told him that I knew noth- 
ing about the Confederates. But the man spoke very intelligently 
and gave such evidences of earnestness that I concluded to trust him. 
While he was talking I was tearing the tinfoil. 

" 'Don't, don't!' said he. 'You will need that to wrap the reply in.' 

"He said be would return at 3 o'clock. 

"After his departure I read the note. It was written on very thin 
yellow tissue paper, which was greatly wrinkled and mussed from being 
folded so tightly." 

Mrs. Bonsai has preserved the letter, put in a small picture frame 
behind a glass for protection. It Avas written in a very fine hand, evi- 
dently by dictation, and signed by the General. The sheet was only 
a little larger than ordinary note paper. It said simply this : 

September 15, 1864. 

I learn from Major General Crook that you are a loyal lady and still love 
the old flag. 

Can you inform me of the position of Early's forces, the number of divisions 
in his army, and the strength of all or any of them, and his probable or reported 
intentions? Have any more troops arrived from Richmond, or are there any 
more coming, or reported to be coming? 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant. P. H. Sheridan, 

Major General commanding. 

You can trust the bearer. 

"After reading the letter," continued Mrs. Bonsai, "I went at once 
to my mother and told her what had occurred. We were almost over- 
powered by the thought of the great danger we were in, but we con- 
cluded to run the risk. 

"If it had not been for an accident, that seems to have been provi- 
dential, I should have known nothing to teli General Sheridan that 
would have been of value to him. As it happened, I did not know 



122 WAR ANECDOTES 

how valuable the information I possessed might be. My mother and 
I were known to be loyal, and the Confederates had very little to do 
with us, so we knew nothing of them or of what was going on. But 
a Confederate officer, who had been wounded and was then convales- 
cent, was boarding Avith one of our neighbors. As a convalescent he 
wandered about at will, and knew all about the strength and move- 
ments, the dangers, the hopes, and the fears of Early's forces. It 
chanced that just two evenings before I got General Sheridan's letter, 
or before I had any thought of serving the Union cause, this young 
Confederate asked permission to call on me. He had often observed 
me from his window arranging or gathering my flowers, and he was 
lonely and sought my company. So it chanced that two evenings 
before I got the note this young officer Avas at our house. AVe Avere 
strangers, with nothing in common to talk about, so the conversation 
turned upon the war, and more especially the state of affairs directly 
about us. He described the situation from his standpoint — how many 
troops they had and what they must rely on. I asked questions without 
any purpose except to keep up the conversation, and he answered 
freely. I had no idea of what importance all this was, or that it 
would ever come of use to me, but when I read General Sheridan's 
letter it all at once occurred to me that I could tell him what the Con- 
federate had told me. 

"When the colored man returned I gave him an answer to the 
General's letter, telling the number of troops, their situation, and 
the fact that some had been called off* for service elsewhere. I told 
him, in fact, the very things, as I see now, that he most wanted to 
know, but I expressed regret that I could not give more information, 
and said I would try to gather more for him if he Avould send the 
messenger back in a day or two. 

"The colored man put the letter in his mouth and left the house 
quietly. Many times during the next day, Saturday, and the quiet 
Sabbath that followed, I Avondered Avhat had become of the messenger, 
and what would be the result from my note. 

"When I was awakened Monday morning by the booming of can- 



INCID ENTS OF ARAIY L IFE 123 

non my first thought was whether my note had anything to do with 
it. It was a terrible fight, and in the afternoon, when the streets 
were filled with troops, wagons,^ cannon, and the poor suffering 
wounded, and the buildings were on fire all around us, my mother 
asked me, with tears in her eyes, if I thought my note had anything 
to do with this battle. I had thought of that all day, and I was 
overwhelmed. I hid my face in my hands and cried: 'Oh ! no, no ! 
I don't believe he got it.' It was the most terrible day of my ex- 
perience. Houses about us were on fire, our own fence was burning 
and shells fell so near that my mother and I went into the cellar for 
safety. Finally the rumbling of the battle grew fainter and fainter, 
until it got so quiet I could not endure to remain in the cellar in ig- 
norance of the result. From the first floor I could see nothing; noth- 
ing from the second floor, but from the garret windows I saw the old 
American flag coming into the town. I dropped upon my knees. J 
soon learned whether my note had to do with the battle. Hearing 
sabers clattering against the steps, I started to the front door and 
met two Union officers already inside the house. One introduced 
himself as General Sheridan. He told me that it was entirely upon 
the information I had sent him that he fought the battle, and he 
thanked me earnestly, saying he would never forget my courage and 
patriotism. I was so fearful of suspicion that I would hardly permit 
him to speak to me. I knew that should the Southern people dis- 
cover the part I had in the battle my life would not be worth much, 
and I was afraid to have the General talk to me. I begged him not 
to speak of it ; that my life would be in danger when the Union 
troops went away. General Sheridan replied that the Confederates 
would never come again. He wrote his report at my desk and called 
in the morning to say good-bye before following Early to Fisher's. 

"He rode a beautiful black horse that morning. I lived on quietly 
at Winchester," she continued, "until 1867, and no one suspected me. 
They knew nothing of the matter until this watch arrived, accom- 
panied by a letter from General Sheridan. Then the Union people 
gathered around me in astonishment. I remember an old man who 



124 WAR ANECDOTES 

took both my hands in his and said: 'AVhy, my little girl, there was 

not a man in the place who would have dared do such a thing. As 

much as I like the Union I would not have had the courage.' Most 

of the community were wild with indignation, but the war was over 

and they could do me no injury. But they showed their dislike for 

me in many ways. The boys used to spit at me on the street. 

"I had no conception of the service I had done until I received this 

letter from the General : 

" 'Headquarters Department of the Gulf, ) 
New Orleans, January 7, 1867. J 

"'My Dear Miss Wright — You are probably not aware of the service you 
rendered the Union cause by the information you sent me by the colored man 
a few days before the Opequee, on September 19, 1864. It was on this in- 
formation the battle was fought, and probably won. The colored man gave 
the note rolled up in tinfoil to the scout, who awaited him at Millwood. The 
colored man had carried it in his mouth to that point and delivered it to the 
scout, who brought it to me. 

" 'By this note I became aware of the true condition of affairs inside of the 
enemy's lines, and gave directions for the attack. I will alwavs remember this 
courageous and patriotic action of yours with gratitude, and beg you to accept 
the watch and chain, which I send you by General I. W. Forsyth, as a me- 
mento of September 19, 1864.' " 

This letter is put in a double frame, so as to show the writing on 

both sides. On the back of it is an indorsement by General Grant, 

in his own hand, asking an appointment for (then) Miss Wright to a 

situation in the Treasury Department. While in the Treasury she 

met and married Mr. Bonsai. 



A LONG TIME BETWEEN. DEALS. 
During one of the early years of the war Colonel E. Wolfe, of an 
Indiana Regiment, and Major, afterward General Hatch, of the 
regular army, occupied a log house as common headquarters, near 
Memphis. One night some movements were in operation, and orders 
were coming in thick and fast. To while away the tedium of the 
time the two oflicers sat down to a game of poker. The play was 
interrupted by the arrival of frequent orderlies, who were promptly 
attended to, and then the game proceeded. After a while, however, 
orderlies began to come in at both doors, and the situation grew critical. 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 125 

Major Hatch started to his feet with the exclamation: "Wolfe, this 
thing is getting too hot. Mind, it's your deal!" and, leaving cards 
and stakes on the table, he hurried from the hovel and mounted his 
horse. An action soon ensued, and in the operations that followed 
the two friends became separated. Not during the war did they again 
meet, and not until twenty years after its close, when one day Colonel 
Wolfe was at Winfield, Ark., and entered the hotel there to register. 
A grey-headed, military looking gentleman was in the act of writing 
his name on the book, which having done, he handed the pen to the 
Indianian ; their eyes met, and recognition was mutual. "Hello, 
Hatch," said the ex-volunteer officer, "who would have thought of 
seeing you here?" A twinkle came to the eyes of the veteran 
addressed, and extending his hand he dryly remarked : "Wolfe, it's 
your deal !" 



A BRAVE SERGEANT'S LAST SHOT. 

Sergeant Albert Bunn belonged to the Seventy-first Pennsylvania 
Regiment, which was first enlisted in Philadelphia by United States 
Senator Baker, and was intended to be credited to California. For 
some reason that State did not accept it, and it was disbanded as the 
First California and immediately re-enlisted by Governor Curtin as 
the Seventy-first Pennsylvania, though it had been one of the earliest 
enlisted. The regiment saw very active service. It behaved nobly 
at Ball's Bluff, where the heroic Baker fell, and was with McClellan 
through his Peninsular campaign in Virginia. Young Bunn won a 
name for unflinching courage, but the crowning act of his military 
career was at Gettysburg, when, on July 3, 1863, he met his death. 
The regiment was in the Second Division of Hancock's Second Army 
Corps. It Avas located on the left center of the line at Cemetery 
Ridge. Near by was a battery that suffered terribly from the devastat- 
ing fire of the Confederates. Its men were being picked off by sharp- 
shooters, and it was exposed to the full sweep of the fierce shelling 
with which the Confederates covered the gallant charge that proved 
their last. It was absolutely necessary that the guns should be kept 



126 TT^iJ ANECDOTES 

in position, but the battery had become so crippled that they could no 
longer be worked. In this emergency its commanding officer, who 
was wounded in the leg and who was shortly afterward killed, asked 
for volunteers to man his guns, and said he preferred men from the 
Seventy-first Regiment. 

Sergeant Bunn sprang forward and took charge of one of the guns, 
and loaded it almost to the muzzle. Colonel Charles Kochersperger 
shouted to him : "Sergeant, your gun is elevated too high." 

"All right," he cried back, as he coolly adjusted it, although he and 
all his comrades knew that he was looking death in the face. 

"Sergeant, I'm afraid it will burst," said the Colonel, who had wit- 
nessed the manner in which Bunn had loaded the weapon. 

"All right. Colonel," he shouted ; "if it does it will burst some of 
them !" and he stood by his implement of death with linstock in 
hand. The Confederates were then making their final charge. Bunn 
waited until they were at close range, as unmoved in that hail of death 
as though he was on dress parade. When what he considered the op- 
portune moment had arrived he applied the match. A comrade who 
witnessed the result says: "It was like mowing grain down with a 
scythe." The carnage from that one explosion was simply appalling. 
When the smoke lifted they saw Bunn lying beside the gun. When 
they went to him they saw that he was dead. Seven bullets were found 
imbedded in his body. Generals and Admirals win high renown for 
the military achievements of their men, but personal deeds of heroism 
by simple privates or subalterns are rarely recorded. 



HOW SHERIDAN WAS MADE COLONEL. 

General Alger tells the following story of the way Captain, after- 
wards General, Sheridan received his commission as Colonel of the 
Second Michigan Cavalry: 

"It was in 1862 and I was then on one of the campaigns of the 
Second. Governor Blair came to the camp with General Robertson, 
Adjutant General of State troops, and they departed for Pittsburg 
Landing, thirty miles south. Colonel Gordon Granger was promoted 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 127 

Brigadier General, and that left us without a Colonel. The officers 
chose Captain Sheridan, at that time Acting Commissary on 
Halleck's staff. I was charged with the duty of communicating the 
officers' wishes to Governor Blair, and with Lieutenant Frank Wal- 
bridge rode to Pittsburg Landing. I delivered my message, but the 
Governor hesitated. I reiterated the fact that he was considered the 
best man for the place. 'All right,' said the Governor; 'you officers of 
the Second know better than I.' He wrote Sheridan's appointment 
on a page of note paper. 

"Walbridge and I rOde back to camp that night. My brother 
officers deputed me to acquaint Sheridan with his promotion, and I 
rode down to Halleck's headquarters. I had never seen Sheridan, 
and was somewhat surprised when I was directed to a little bit of 
a fellow weighing about 135 pounds, with a big head, a resolute eye 
and broad shoulders. His form tapered down to his feet like an iron 
wedge. Dismounting, I said, 'Is this Colonel Sheridan?' 

" 'I'm Ca})tain Sheridan, of the army,' he replied, with a quiet 
glance. The word 'army* with West Pointers meant 'regular army.' 

"Well, you're my Colonel,' I said, handing him Governor Blair's 
note. He was considerably elated. Other staff officers suspecting 
something gathered around, and Sheridan handed them the note to 
read. Then came a deluge of congratulations and hand-shaking and 
an adjournment to a tent for refreshments. 

" 'Colonel, here's your health,' said an officer, holding up a glass of 
spirits, 'and I hope that it's only a step to a Brigadier's star.' The 
toast was drank with enthusiasm, but Sheridan said: "No, thank you, 
gentlemen ; I am now a Colonel of cavalry, and I have got all the 
rank I want.'" 



COOL AS A CUCUMBER. 

General Pleasanton, who commanded the cavalry of the Army of 

the Potomac, had a tendency to always look upon the humorous side 

oi things. He said that even in action at the most critical period he 

could always see something that made him laugh. It was at the battle 



128 Ji^AR ANP.CDOTES 

of Brandy Station that one of these instances occurred. In the heat 
of the engagement a cavalryman's horse was shot under him. A 
shell had taken off the horse's hind legs clean, and the cavalryman 
and horse rolled together in the dust. "That fellow," said the General, 
"was the coolest man I ever saw. He got up and shook himself and 
commenced to take off his saddle and bridle and carefully piled them 
with his other traps in a little heap. Although the shot were scream- 
ing past him and the air was full of bullets and shell, he acted with 
as much deliberation as if he were getting ready for breakfast. That 
is what attracted my attention. I watched that fellow, thinking that 
was the kind of man I wanted in my escort. At that moment another 
shell took off his horse's head, and he looked upon him a moment, and 
then put his foot upon the horse's body, about the only thing that 
was left of the animal, and shook his fist in the direction of the 
Confederate battery over on the hill. It was the most comical sight 
to me I ever saw, and I burst out laughing. I couldn't help it, although 
we were in a pretty tight place. The next morning I sent over to the 
regiment to which the soldier belonged and asked the name of the 
man whose horse had been killed in the manner stated. My orderly 
returned saying that he couldn't find him. When I inspected the 
regiment, or what was left of it, that day, I rode down the line and 
looked at every man to see if I could pick him out myself. Don't 
you know that I never could find out that fellow ? You see, he had 
probably stolen a horse from the quartermaster's department and 
remounted himself, and was afraid to come forward for fear of a court- 
martial. He was a brave fellow, and I have would have been glad 
to have made him a sergeant." 



A WAR DUEL AND ITS RESULT. 
On the 12th of June, 1863, a singular duel took place in Greene 
County, in East Tennessee, between Captain Jones, of the Union 
forces, and Captain Fry, of the Confederate army. For months 
these two oflScers had commanded an outpost on opposite sides of 
Lick Creek, a stream too deep to ford and too shallow for a ferry- 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 129 

boat, spanned by a bridge which both wished to preserve for the sake 
of the crossing that might at any time become imperatively desirable, 
but which each resolutely determined should not pass wholly into ihe 
possession of the other. After fighting for months with varying suc- 
cess, but no lasting advantage to either, they agreed to fight a duel 
for the bridge, the victor to hold undisputed possession for the time 
being. Jones gave the challenge, and Fry accepted. By the terms 
agreed upon they were to fight with "navy sixes," at twenty paces, 
deliberately walking toward each other and firing until their last 
shot was discharged, unless one should fall meantime. Seconds were 
chosen and a Confederate surgeon, the only one within reach, at- 
tended in his professional capacity. Both were fine-looking men, 
ideal soldiers in appearance, Fry being the taller, standing six feet, 
slender, with long curly hair, dark eyes, and a nonchalance that was 
more impressive than any bluster could have been. Jones lacked 
two inches of six feet, and with his light hair, blue eyes and regular, 
resolute features, seemed every inch a chieftain. Both were brave 
to a degree. Fry was suffering from a severe flesh wound in the left 
arm, but came on the field as cool and collected as his opponent. 

The preliminaries settled, each took his position. Jones' second 
won the word, and he slowly said, "One — two — three — fire!" They 
simultaneously turned at the word "One" and instantly fired. Neither 
was hurt. They cocked their pistols and deliberately walked toward 
each other, firing as they went. At the fifth shot Jones threw up his 
right hand and, firing into the air, sank slowly to the ground. Fry 
was in the act of firing his last shot, but, seeing Jones fall, the 
Southern chivalry within him rose and he silently lowered his pistol. 
The sight of his opponent prostrate on the ground seemed to work a 
revulsion of feeling, and he sprang to the side of the fallen man, 
took his head into his lap and asked, with evident concern, how badly 
he was wounded. 

The surgeon and the seconds were quickly by the side of the men. 
It was found that Fry had been wounded three times, one shot strik- 
ing the right side, one the left arm and the third breaking the right 



130 WAR ANECDOTES 

arm. It was months before he recovered and returned to duty. 
Jones' case was even more serious. Three balls had inflicted as many 
frightful, though not serious, flesh wounds in the body, while the 
fourth ball had struck near the stomach, but had fortunately been 
deflected so as to barely escape that organ, coming out to the left of 
the spinal column. He narrowly escaped dying, but got well at last. 
Both fought the war out. 

The most singular part of the story is the sequel to the duel. After 
the war the men met. Their respect for each other's bravery led to 
an acquaintance, which ended in the strongest friendship, and finally 
the two whilom foes became partners in business. 



''DIED LIKE A GENTLEMAN." 
General Lytle, just before he received his fatal wound at Chicka- 
mauga, had made his brilliant charge into the midst of the enemy, 
where all chances of retreat were cut off'. Suddenly he thrust his 
hand into his coat pocket, drew forth a pair of kid gloves and began 
putting them on. Asked by an aide the reason for this movement, 
so unexpected under such thrilling circumstances, the General 
answered : "Don't you see we are surrounded and that there are but 
two alternatives left us — to die or surrender? For my part I propose 
to die like a gentleman !" He drew on his gloves and soon after fell. 
Those who knew General Lytle knew him to be almost punctilious 
about the appointments of a gentleman, but no one ever supposed 
him capable of such incomparable coolness. . 



LINCOLN'S GETTYSBURG ORATION. 

Hon. Edward McPherson, who was with President Lincoln when 
the latter wrote his matchless oration delivered at Gettysburg, thus 
describes the way in which it was composed and delivered : 

"1 represented the Gettysburg District in Congress at the time of 
the battle, and at the dedication of the cemetery Mr. Lincoln was 
my guest. He was not sure that he could be present when he was 
first asked, but said that he should go to Gettysburg if possible. I 



INCID ENTS OF ARMY L IFE 131 

think he was not prepared to say positively that he would go until 
a very few hours before the time set for leaving Washington, so 
he could not have given any thought to the oration before. I was 
his seat-mate in the car, and though he talked pleasantly, and spoke 
of the country through which we Avere passing, yet I thought he was 
laboring with one of those spells of profound melancholy with which 
he was at times afflicted. He spoke of Mr. Everett, who was to de- 
liver the chief oration, and said that Everett ought to be at his best. 
I kncAV that Mr. Everett had given even more than his usual care in 
preparing this oration, and looked upon his work as a masterpiece, 
and I believe I told Mr. Lincoln so, and he said that the theme was 
great enough to inspire such an orator as Everett to his best. Mr. 
Lincoln, I think, had no thought of saying anything himself, but I 
told him that he would be expected to make a few remarks, for it 
would not be permitted him to be silent. He sat for some moments 
absorbed in thought, and at last began to feel in his pockets, as if for 
loose paper. I asked him if he wanted paper and pencil, and he said, 
'Yes, a scrap of paper ;' and I opened my valise and gave him two 
or three sheets of note paper. He drew up his long knees, and, 
putting a book on them, wrote, jotting down, as I supposed, a few 
heads or suggestions. He wrote right along, without hesitation or 
erasure, and filled one page atid a part of another. Then he folded 
it up and put it iu his pocket, simply saying that he had set down a 
few lines that had occurred to him to say. 

"At the cemetery, at the proper time, he arose, put on his spec- 
tacles, and drew these sheets from his pocket. I do not think he had 
looked at them again after writing them in the cars, and in a low 
voice, which could be heard but a few feet away from the stage, he 
read those splendid lines. The few who heard him were most pro- 
foundly impressed, but upon the vast throng who saw him the oration 
made no impression whatever, because few heard it. No proper re- 
port of the oration was made, and Mr. Lincoln crumpled the manu- 
script up and would very likely have thrown it away if I had 
asked him for it. It was not until it had been printed in a 



132 WAR ANECDOTES 

newspaper and then widely copied that its wonderful beauty, both in 
thought and literary workmanship, was recognized, and Mr. Lincoln 
was very much surprised to learn that scholars were quoting it as the 
best model of pure English and true eloquence the language had fur- 
nished, at least in America." 



CHEERED BY THE ENEMY. 

At the battle of Stone River General Bragg ordered a charge by 
Breckenridge's corps, which was gallantly made, but was repulsed by 
the Union forces, the Confederates being beaten off with a loss of 2,000 
men. Among the troops that charged so furiously was the division 
of Major General J. P. McCann, who rode in gallantly at the head 
of his men. Before the war he had been a Lieutenant in the regular 
army, and his old command — the Fourth United States Artillery — 
was just in his front. No One could have done more than he did on 
that day to win success, and no troops could have done better than 
those he led, but nothing could withstand the storm of grape and 
canister that was sweeping the advancing ranks away, and they broke 
and run. McCann, still leading, was at this time not more than fifty 
feet in front of his old battery. Even through the smoke of their 
guns the men recognized their old commander, Avhile he remembered 
the faces of his former command, and although chagrined at defeat he 
could not repress his feelings of admiration at the splendid work his 
old battery was doing. Turning his horse straight to the front, he 
rose up ill his stirrups, and, swinging his hat in the air over his head, 
he yelled : 

"Three cheers for the Fourth Artillery!" 

Then turning, he slowly picked his way back from among the dead 
and dying and rejoined his division, unhurt. 



THE FIRST CONFEDERATE FLAG CAPTURED. 
The first Confederate flag captured in the war was taken by Sergeant 
John G. Merritt, of the First Minnesota Infantry, who thus described 
his action : 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 133 

"I applied to Lieutenant Holtzborn, of my company, for the privi- 
lege of selecting four men for the purpose of capturing the first Con- 
federate flag we could get. The Lieutenant told me it was a hazardous 
undertaking, but said, after consultation with Captain Lester, I had 
permission. * * * Xhe man who carried the colors was about 
five feet ten or eleven inches, dark complexioned, with black hair, 
slight mustache and black eyes. He, with others about him, wore 
grey clothes and black slouch hats ; some one was trying to form them. 
The color bearer had his coat unbuttoned, with his hat on the back of 
his head. As I got within a few feet of him I commanded him in 
a peremj)tory manner to surrender, and at the same time Dudley, 
Durfee and myself cocked our guns. I grabbed the colors out of his 
hand. He and one or two more said: 'Don't shoot! don't shoot! 

*'The flag was a red one with a white stripe running through the 
middle of it, Avith blue in one corner and some stars on it. As soon 
as I grabbed the colors out of the bearer's hands I told him to follow 
me quick, and at the same time told my men to get back to the regi- 
ment as soon as possible. Dudley, Grim and myself were laughing at 
the easy thing we had, and all of us running for the regiment as fast 
as we could go, when — bang ! bang ! bang ! came a volley after us, 
killing Grim and the comrade, whose name I have forgotten." 



SAVED BY PETTICOATS. 

A member of the Twenty-fifth New York Cavalry tells a good story 
of his failure to capture a noted Confederate scout, William Baxter, 
known as "Billy Bowlegs," at a time when he was known to be visiting 
his mother's house near a little Virginia village about eleven miles from 
Harper's Ferry. 

"The scout had been described to us as of slender build, medium 
height, fair complexion and dark eyes. Enough Avas known about his 
nerve to know that he would not be taken alive if he had any show 
to fight, and, therefore, as we approached the house about midnight, 
from across a field, we were anxiously wondering how we should get at 
him. If we knocked at the door he would be alarmed and have time 



134 WAR ANECDOTES 

to arm himself. If we broke in we might, and probably should, find 
him in bed. It was a still, clear night, rather cold, and we hung about 
for half an hour before adopting a plan. Then we decided to break 
in the doors. Two of us went to the front door and two to the back, 
while the fifth man stood ready to receive the scout in case he dropped 
from a second-story window supposed to be in his bed-room. We 

crept softly up, and at a signal both doors were burst . No, 

they weren't! Neither of them gave an inch under the pres- 
sure, and in response to the efforts we made, a woman's voice called 
out: 

" 'Who is it, and what's wanted?' 

" 'Open the door or we'll break it downl' 

" 'Wait one minute !' 

"She struck a light and we heard her moving about, and in a couple 
of minutes the front door was opened and a grey-haired woman of 
forty-five stood there with a candle in her hand. 

" 'Union soldiers, eh? Come right in,' she said, smiling as if glad 
to see us. 

"I posted three of the men around the house and entered with the 
other, and as soon as I was inside I said : 

" 'Madam, we have come for your son. We know he is here. We 
shall take him dead or alive.' 

" 'Oh, you have come for Billy, have you !' exclaimed a girl about 
eighteen years of age, who came running down stairs at that moment. 
'Excuse me, gentlemen, for not being fully dressed, but you see, you 
didn't send us any word.' 

"She laughed in a merry way, while the mother smiled good- 
naturedly. She had on a neat-fitting calico dress, a ribbon at her 
throat, and except that her hair looked 'tumbled,' she looked as well 
prepared as if she had expected our coming. 

" 'Yes, Jennie, they "want Billy,' said the mother, as she placed the 
candle on a stand. 

" 'And we are bound to take him, dead or alive !' I added, in aloud 
voice, suspecting the scout was within hearing. 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 13o 

"'Oh, how sorry!' laughed the girl. 'If brother Billy had only 
known you were coming ! But he didn't, you see, and so he went away 
at dark. He'll never forgive himself — never !' 

" 'We must search the house,' I said. 

" 'Oh, certainly. Mammy, you light another candle and I'll show 
the gentlemen around. Perhaps the sight of Billy's old clothes will 
do 'em good.' 

"Well, sir, we hunted that house from attic to cellar, and all we 
found was an old suit of Billy's clothes. The scout had skipped, and 
the best I could do was to apologize to mother and daughter, accept a 
midnight luncheon at the hands of the latter, and take the backtrack 
for the river. I'll own up, too, that I was 'dead gone' on Jennie be- 
fore I left, and that I said to her, as I squeezed her hand at parting : 

" 'When the war is over I'm coming to ask you to be my wife.' 

" 'And — and — I'll say — say y-e-s,' she whispered in my ear. 

"We got back to the ferry soon after daylight and there met a 
Union farmer living neighbor to the widow. When he heard what we 
had been up to, he asked: 

" 'Was the widder all alone?' 

" 'No ; her daughter Jennie was there.' 

" 'Daughter Jennie! Describe her.' 

" 'Good looking girl of medium height, black eyes and hair, and a 
sweet talker. I'm going back to marry her after the war is over.' 

" 'Bet you a farm you don't I That 'ar gal Jennie was nobody else 
but that 'ar scout, Billy Bowlegs ! He jist jumped into some of his 
mammy's clothes, and you pig heads couldn't see through it !' 

"He was right. I met Billy at Harper's Ferry after the war, and 
he wanted to know if I had taken out the marriage license yet." 



GIVING THE ALARM AT VICKSBURG. 

Before the war Dr. Horace Tibbetts, a wealthy planter living at 

Transylvania Landing, some distance above Vicksburg and on the 

opposite side of the Mississippi River, established a private telegraph 

line to a point opposite Vicksburg, for his own private use. This line 



136 WAR ANECDOTES 

proved of great use to the Confederates, for, after the fall of Mem- 
phis, they placed a telegraph operater at Transylvania to keep a strict 
lookout for the moveraeut of Union troops and boats toward Vicks- 
burg. Another was stationed at the terminus of the line opposite 
Vicksburg and ordered not to be absent more than an hour at a time. 
The batteries at Vicksburg had orders to respect his green flag in day- 
time and his red light at night. 

One dark and stormy night the last mentioned operator was at 
Vicksburg and spent a longer time than usual with some old friends 
whom he had met in a Confederate regiment there. Finally, and 
after almost superhuman efforts, he reached the Louisiana shore in 
safety. Hastily securing his boat, with a choking sensation of the 
throat, for excitement at neglect of duty had rendered him almost a 
paralytic, he rushed into the office, and, as telegraphers say, cut in. 
Instantaneously he heard Transylvania calling "v," "v," with the 
energy of despair, and answered, "i, i, i — v." 

His first words were, "Great God, F , sixty-nine transports and 

gunboats have passed since dark, and as far as the eye can reach up 
the river they are still coming. Rush across and give the alarm. I 
leave here, for this line will be destroyed and of no more service." 

The storm had not abated, but without a thought of danger the 
operator hurried across to A'^icksburg. 

A great ball was in progress, at which the General and his staff*, as 
well as all the beauty and chivalry of the city and the surrounding 
country were present. The great house was a surging mass of dancers 
and promenaders. 

Singling out the General, he walked up to him respectfully, saluting 
himself and lady partner. The General scowled at the sudden and 
disreputable intruder, who was thoroughly drenched from head to foot 
and muddy to a degree. Then he exclaimed, "Well, sir!" in a loud 
and threatening manner. The operator handed him a piece of pajier 
upon which he had hastily written the number of boats that had 
passed, etc. 

He glanced at it at first deliberately, but in a second he drew it close 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 137 

to his eyes. His face paled, his brow contracted, and he exclaimed: 
"Where did you get this information, sir?" The reply was: "I am 
stationed across the river from this city, in charge of the telegraph, 
by your order." 

The great crowd had pressed around them, as his rerrtarks were in a 
very high key. He exclaimed: "Well done, sir; thank you;" and 
turning to the crowd exclaimed: "All officers of the army will hurry 
to their respective camps at once. The enemy are within a few miles 
of us and may land by morning. All families wishing to leave the 
city will be furnished transportation by rail." In five minutes that 
ball was a thing of the past. 



TWO AT ONCE. 

A Union soldier who was on picket at a lonely spot near Cane Hill, 
Ark., the night before Blunt attacked Marmaduke, describes a sin- 
gular accident by which no doubt the lives of himself and his com- 
panion were saved by the death of two of the enemy. They had had 
a very hard march and his companion had gone to sleep, despite his 
carelessness would have meant court-martial and death if discovered. 
Says the writer : 

"When I found that no argument of mine would keep his eyes 
open, my only recourse was to keep double watch, and so make sure 
that the relief did not find him asleep when it came up. I was so 
thoroughly tired out that I could not have slept even in camp. 

"After the first hour had passed away and I had become accus- 
tomed to the noises and the loneliness, there was nothing so very dis- 
agreeable in the situation. My comrade had gradually fallen over, 
until at last he was flat on the ground. I sat with my back to the 
tree, facing the bend in the road and the bridge, and, though the night 
was without a moon, I could have easily detected any one seeking to 
cross the stream by the highway. An hour and a half had passed 
when the silence was broken by a stifled cry. It acted on me like an 
electric shock, and I sprang up, my heart in my mouth. I could not 
tell from which direction it came, and as there had been only one cry, 



138 WAR ANECDOTES 

I soon made myself believe that it had been uttered by some bird or 
animal. Nevertheless, my nerves were all on edge, and the loneliness 
grew so oppressive that I determined to arouse my comrade. As I 
moved over to him for this purpose my foot struck his musket, which 
was leaning against the tree, and it fell down and was discharged. 
The sharp report was followed by an "Oh! oh!" close at hand, and 
the sleeper at my feet was awake and on his feet in five seconds. We 
stood there, looking this way and that, and listening as only men can 
when peril menaces, until the corporal's guard came trotting up to 
ascertain the cause of the firing. 

"Then, what do you suppose we discovered? Not over twenty feet 
from the tree, in the woods by the roadside, lay the bodies of two of 
the toughest-looking bushwhackers one ever saw. One was right be- 
hind the other, and the ounce ball from the musket I had knocked 
down had passed through both their bodies just below the breast-bone. 
Each had a bowie-knife, and each knife was stained with fresh blood, 
and when we investigated further we found that both men on the out- 
post to our right had been assassinated — each being stabbed in three 
or four places. You may call it Providence, accident, or whatever 
you Avill, I am only giving you the facts in the case, and facts that 
can be substantiated by scores of men still living." 



HOW A REGIMENT WAS WIPED OUT. 

At the battle of Pleasant Hills, La., a Texas cavalry regiment, 
numbering 348 men, were seen forming for a charge against a Union 
brigade of infantry. The latter had good cover and were fresh. The 
cavalry had to dash across a field to reach the line, and before they 
came the commander of the brigade passed along behind his two 
lines and ordered the men to hold their fire until the word was given. 
Each pair were instructed to fire at one cavalryman — or, rather, one 
at the man and the other at the horse. 

The cavalry made the charge in one line, but it was so much shorter 
than the front of the brigade that three fires could be concentrated. 
The Confederates came forward with a dash and a^yell, keeping a pretty 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 139 

even front until they were within 100 feet of the line, when all the 
muskets rang out together. One volley was enough. That regiment 
was so nearly lilotted off the face of the earth that only four of its 
members returned to the Confederate lines. Over 200 of their horses 
were killed outright, and at least another hundred wounded. There 
were not ten wounded men to pick up. Every Union soldier had a 
dead aim and a close target. 



TRUE TO HIS PRINCIPLES. 

When the Confederate army was in retreat after Gettysburg they 
pressed into service all the horses they could find in the country 
through which they were passing, the quartermasters being very liberal 
with pay — in Confederate money. Near Hagerstown they found an 
old Duukard, with one horse, a good one, which was quickly appropri- 
ated. The furuier protested, but without avail. Finally he was told 
that there were many foot-sore horses in the command, one of which 
he could doubtless secure. At once he made his way to the head- 
quarters of General E. Porter Alexander, of the artillery, and 
explained that as his only horse had been taken and his crop would be 
lost unless he had one, he wished the General to trade him one of the 
foot-sore horses for the one he had been despoiled of. He was most 
courteously met by the General, who, appreciating the sterling 
character of his visitor, was as anxious to do as well by him as was 
possible under the circumstances. He at once offered oue foot-sore 
animal, and payment — in Confederate money — for the Dunkard's 
horse, besides. This was respectfully declined. Then Alexander 
offered to give him an order on the United States, signed by General 
Longstreet, for the value of his impressed horse, but this was declined 
also. Then the generous Confederate offered to include the value of 
the Dunkard's entire farm, without success. He wanted nothing but 
the foot-sore horse. Alexander told him to take two or three of them, 
as they would be left behind, anyhow, when the army should move 
again. Replied the sturdy old man : Well, sir; I am a Dunkard, and 
the rule of our church is an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, and 



140 WAR ANECDOTES 

a horse for a horse, and I can't breSk the rule." By this time Alexan- 
der had become really interested in the transaction. He explained 
that the Lord, who made all horses, knew that a good horse was well 
worth a dozen worn-out, old battery scrubs, and after some time pre- 
vailed upon the Dunkard to take two, by calling one of them a gift. 
But at midnight on the following night Alexander was awakened by 
approaching hoofs and he and his staff were out of bed and on their 
feet in a minute, expecting important orders. It was the old Dunkard, 
riding one and leading the other foot-sore horse ! "Well, sir," he 
said, "you made it look all right to me to-day when you were talking '. 
but after I went to bed to-night I got to thinking it all over and I 
don't think I could explain it to the church, and I would rather not 
try." With that he tied one old foot-sore to a fence and rode off 
abruptly, leaving Alexander and his staff with an experience '*so 
novel and entertaining as to largely compensate for the inconvenience 
of being aroused out of sleep, even after the fatigue of the recent 
great battle. 



CAPTURED BY A WOMAN. 

"During the retreat of Lee's army from the field of Gettysburg to 
the Potomac," says a Confederate writer, "a great effort was made by 
the officers to prevent straggling, but it would have required an officer 
to a man to have carried out the programme successfully. We had 
been beaten, and felt discouraged and reckless. We were on short 
rations, the weather was dismal, and the rank and file were in no 
mood to be nagged by strict discipline. 

"The command to which I belonged left Gettysburg about 10 
o'clock at night, and for the first three or four hours the men were 
kept well in hand, under the impression that we were only changing 
positions to secure an advantage over the Union forces. As daylight 
broke and we realized that we were on the way home, squads and in- 
dividuals broke away at every opportunity to forage for a breakfast. 
In company with two private soldiers belonging to my company I 
-lipped away from the column about sunrise, and, while a black-look- 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 141 

ing thuuder-storm seemed close at hand, we bolted into a piece of 
woods by the roadside, and then struck for a highway running at 
right angles, on which we could make out three or four farm- 
houses. We selected the first, or nearest, and as we entered the gate 
a woman opened the door and stood waiting for us to approach. She 
knew we were Confederates, and asked many questions concerning the 
battle, and did not attempt to conceal the fact that she was a thorough 
Unionist and an ardent hater of Jeff Davis. 

"'Nevertheless," she added, as she turned to go in, "you men are 
not altogether to blame, and you shall have a bite to eat as soon as I 
can get it.' 

"We went around to the back door, laid aside our guns and accou- 
trements, and had a good wash-up in the rain-barrel. Then we sat 
down on the grass to wait for breakfast, the odor of which came to us. 
But for the suggestion of one of our comrades everything would have 
gone well. Not far from us was a stone smoke-house, and through the 
partly open door we could see pieces of meat hanging from the rafters. 
He suggested that we further investigate, with a view of 'gob- 
bling' some of the meat as we left, and we got up and went straight to 
the house and entered it. There were two hams and two sidepieces 
hanging up, and at the back end of the building, which was about 
twelve by tAvelve, was a barrel filled with old rag carpet, on top of 
which was a setting hen. As we came near she began to exhibit the 
usual characteristics, and we were having considerable fun at her 
expense, when the door was shut with, a bang and we heard the rattle 
of a chain and padlock. It was a close, dark place, and it was a 
minute or two before we reached the door and understood, the situa- 
tion. We began to kick and shout, and presently the woman's voice 
replied : 

"'It's no use trying to get out! You are my prisoners, and kick- 
ing won't do any good !' 

"How nice and soft we talked to her, but it was no go. Then we 
swore and blustered, but she only laughed at us. After awhile she 
passed us some bread and butter through one of the ventilators, 



142 WAR ANECDOTES 

followed by a cupful of water, and there we remained all day, all night, 
and up to 8 o'clock next morning, when we were turned over to the 
Union cavalry." 



TOO EXHUBERANT JOY. 

In describing the exultation in the Union ranks at Appomattox 
when it was known that Lee had surrendered, "Private Dalzell" writes 
thus of the effect of the news upon the colored troops : 

"The colored troops went wild — I think stark wild with joy. 
They shouted, danced and sang. They embraced each other, and 
rolled on the ground, kicking in the air, laughing, screaming, crying, 
and 'blessing de Lord.' Five thousand colored troops were close upon 
our right. Their exultation knew no bounds, and so transported were 
they in their ecstacy, in obedience to their peculiarly emotional in- 
stincts, that hundreds of them fired their rifles straight up into the 
sky, and the bullets returning with the same velocity with which they 
shot up, actually killed and wounded fifty of these happy fellows in 
the moment of victory and the delirium of their joy. 



PUNISHMENTS IN THE ARMY. 

A writer who was an artillery private in the Army of the Potomac, 
writes as follows regarding the punishments it was occasionally found 
necessary to inflict : 

"Breaches of army discipline were promptly and severely punished. 
There is an unwritten military axiom which says that frequent courts- 
martial convened to try enlisted men for petty offenses sharply indi- 
cate that the regimental oflScers are inefficient. There was no com- 
plaint on this score in the Army of the Potomac in 1863-64. There 
was no necessity for punishing the volunteers. They were men of high 
intelligence. They could be reasoned with. They could and did see 
the necessity of soldier-like and decent behavior in their camps. They 
cheerfully obeyed orders, because they realized the necessity of obedi- 
ence. But with large bounties came a diflferent class of recruits, the 
bounty jumpers. These men had to be heartlessly molded into soldiers. 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 143 

**The punishments inflicted on the enlisted men were various, and 
some of them were horribly brutal and needlessly severe ; but they 
apparently served their purpose, and the times were cruel, and men 
had been hardened to bear the suffering of other men without wincing. 
One punishment much afiected in the light artillery was called "tying 
on the spare wheel." Springing upwards and rearwards from the cen- 
ter rail of every caisson was a fifth axle, and on it was a spare wheel. A 
soldier who had been insubordinate was taken to the spare wheel and 
forced to step upon it. His legs were drawn apart until they spanned 
three spokes. His arms were stretched until there were three or four 
spokes between his hands. Then feet and hands were firmly bound to 
the felloes of the wheel. If the soldier was to be punished moderately 
he was left, bound in an upright position, on the wheel for five or six 
hours. If the punishment was to be severe the ponderous wheel was 
given a quarter turn after the soldier was lashed to it, which changed 
the position of the man being punished from an upright to a horizon, 
tal one. Then the prisoner had to exert all his strength to keep his 
weight from pulling heavily and cuttingly on the cords that bound his 
upper arm and leg to the wheel. I have frequently seen men faint 
while ndergoing this punishment, and I have known men to endure 
it for hours without a murmur, but with white faces and set jaws and 
blazing eyes. To cry out, to beg for mercy, to protest, insured addi- 
tional discomfort in the shape of a gag, a rough stick being tied into 
the suffering man's mouth. Tying on the spare wheel was the usual 
punishment in the artillery for rather serious ofl'enses ; and no man 
wanted to be tied up but once. 

"There was another punishment which was much more severe than 
the spare wheel, and which, because it was apt to cripple the men 
physically, was very rarely employed. This was known as "tying on 
the rack." Back of every battery wagon is a heavy, strong rack, on 
which forage is carried. It stands out about two feet behind the 
wheels. Its edge is not over an inch thick. The soldier who was to 
sufler the tortures of the rack was led to it. His hands were dragged 
forward as far as they could be without lifting his feet from the ground. 



144 WAR ANECDOTES 

and there they were bound to the felloes of the wheel. Then one foot 
was lifted and bound to the felloe of one wheel, then the other foot 
was bound to the felloe of the other wheel. The whole weight of the 
soldier was thrown on his chest, which bore heavily against the sharp 
edge of the rack. It is almost unnecessary to say that a gag was 
strapped into the prisoner's mouth to prevent articulation before he 
was extended on the rack. No man could endure the supreme pain 
inflicted by this torture without screaming. I have seen a strong and 
most determined man faint in less than ten minutes under the strain 
of this severe and brutal punishment, to be cut down and never again 
twirl sponge staff. I have heard men beg to be killed rather than to 
be tied on the rack. 

"To be bucked and gagged ? Yes, that was severe, but not danger- 
ous. It was highly disagreeable and painful, too, if prolonged, and 
at all times calculated to make a man's eyes stick out of his head as 
lobsters eyes do. And then the appearance of a man while under- 
going the punishment was highly discreditable. The soldier about to 
be bucked and gagged, generally a drunken or noisy soldier, was 
forced to sit on the ground ; his knees were drawn up to his chin, then 
his hands were drawn forward to his shins, and there they were securely 
bound together. A long stick was then thrust under his knees and 
over his arms. A gag was then securely bound in his mouth. The 
soldier who was bucked and gagged could not hurt himself or anyone 
else. He could not speak, but he could make inarticulate sounds in- 
dicative of his suffering, and he invariably made them before he was 
released A soldier who had been bucked and gagged for getting 
drunk would shy at a whisky bottle, as a high-strung colt at a burnt 
stump, for six months. 

"Daily men were tied up by the thumbs, and that was far from 
pleasant. The impudent bounty jumper who had stood on his toes 
under a tree for a couple of hours to keep his weight off his thumbs, 
Avhich were tied to a limb over his head, was exceedingly apt to heed 
the words of his officers when next they spoke to him. The bounty 
jumper lacked the moral qualities which could be appealed to in an 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 145 

honest endeavor to create a soldier out of a rough, but his capacity to 
suffer physically was unimpaired, and that had to be played upon. 

"Then there was the utterly useless and shoulder chafing punishment 
of carrying a stick of cord wood. The stick that one picked up so 
cheerfully, and stepped off with so briskly, and walked up and down 
bef<n-e a sentinel with so gayly in the early morning, had an unac- 
countable property of growing heavier and heavier, as the sun rose 
higher and higher. One morning at 10 o'clock I dropped a stick that 
did not weigh more than twelve pounds at sunrise. I sat down by it 
and turned it over and over. It had not grown, but I was then willing 
to swear that it had gained 188 pounds in weight during the time I 
had carried it. 



WHAT A WOMAN COULD DO. 

The wife of Captain Ricketts, of the First Artillery, U. S. A., was 
devotedly attached to her husband, and when the latter was wounded 
and taken prisoner the wife went to the front, through the lines, and 
found him, nursing him till he recovered. Her unselfish devotion 
touched the sympathies alike of Union and Confederate soldiers ; and 
Wade Hampton himself, then Colonel Hampton, of South Carolina, 
red-hot Southerner as he was, brought with his own hand ale and 
other refreshments to the wounded officer and his wife. Major Webb, 
of North Carolina, once relieved the lady in her nursing while she 
took needed repose, and "Stonewall" Jackson himself saw personally 
to her comfort and that of her husband, and had both of them re- 
moved to better quarters. 

Some months later on, however. Captain Ricketts was sent to 
Libby prison, and was one of the thirteen Northern hostages who 
were held to answer with their lives for the lives of thirteen Southern 
privateersmen who had been taken to New York. If these thirteen 
privateersmen were executed in New York, Captain Ricketts and 
twelve others were to be at once executed in a similar manner at 
Richmond. This was retaliation. This was war. 

But this was not what the devoted wife would submit to. She 



146 W^R ANECDOTES 

day and night protested against it. She wrote to Hampton and 
Webb, and then she called on and fell on her knees before Mrs. 
Cooper, of Richmond, the wife of the Confederate Adjutant General 
Cooper, and besought her to use her influence to have her husband 
released from the number of hostages. If ever there was an out-and- 
out "Southern sympathizer" it was Mrs. Cooper, but if ever there 
was a true woman it was Mrs. Cooper also. 

And the woman rose above the politician. She promised to use her 
influence in her Northern sister woman's behalf, and she did. Mrs. 
Cooper's motives were misconstrued ; she was even suspected of be- 
coming disloyal to her cause ; she met with all sorts of obstacles ; 
but she persevered till she saw Jefferson Davis himself, who coldly 
referred her to the Secretary of War. 

No sentimental, personal arguments could touch the Secretary. 
Mrs. Cooper saw that at her first interview, but the ingenuity of her 
sex came to her aid. 

Just then the Confederate government was anxious for European 
recognition, and desired to appear well in the eyes of foreign gov- 
ernments. Knowing this, Mrs. Cooper took advantage of it, and 
eloquently convinced the Confederate Secretary of War that it would 
look very badly in the eyes of England and France for him to seize 
as hostage, subject to a violent death, a very sick man with such a 
devoted wife. Reluctantly convinced of this, the Secretary issued a 
special order to the Confederate Provost Marshal, General Winder, 
"that all wounded officers should be exempted as hostages." This 
covered Captain Rickett's case, and he was released from his terrible 
predicament. 

And thus a general order was issued by the Southern government 
really to oblige the wife of a Northern captive, and through the un- 
tiring kindness of the wife of a leadiug Southern official. 

Captain Ricketts was subsequently exchanged and came with his 
faithful wife to New York. But Mrs. Ricketts never forgot the 
genuine kindness of the Southern woman, and when Major Webb, 
of North Carolina, was himself taken prisoner by the North, 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 147 

Mrs. Captain Ricketts rested not day or night till he, too, was 
released. 



"0^, SEND THEM TO THE COOK'S TENT!" 

While General Hancock, like all other West Point graduates, was 
a rigid disciplinarian, he had one of the kindest of hearts. At one 
time he undertook to superintend the drill of some raw recruits. For 
a time they did fairly well. AVhen, in putting them through the 
manual of arms, the order to "Make ready!" came, followed, by 
"Take aim!" about half the recruits fired. A second trial was made, 
after a sharp reprimand, and about sixty pulled the trigger at the 
"Take aim!" The boys were again cautioned, and another trial 
made. About six rifles were fired. For an instant Hancock was 
furious. Calling up an aide-de-camp, he shouted : "Find out Avho 
those men are that fired those guns!" After a search, the men were 
found and ordered to step to the rear. The aide then inquired of 
the commander what should be done with the men. The General sat 
on his horse and reflected. The few minutes interval had given him 
time to cool off". He did not feel like inflicting a severe punishment 
on men whose only offense was greenness, yet, having begun, he must 
do something. Finally, turning his horse to ride ofl^ and get rid of 

the unpleasant dilemma, he blurted out: "Oh, , send them to 

the cook's tent!" "Send them to the cook's tent!" became a by-word 
of the corps, which lasted throughout their service. 



WORDS OF PROPHECY. 

On the evening of the 22d of January, 1861, JeflTerson Davis, of 
Mississippi, on his way from Washington, where he had just delivered 
his last speech in the United States Senate, and in company with 
many other Southern Senators and Congressmen, resigned his seat in 
Congress, stopped in Chattanooga on his way home. It had been 
rumored during the day that he was coming, and in expectation of 
seeing him a large crowd of people had assembled at the Crutchfield 
House. At that time great excitement prevailed throughout the 



148 W^R ANECDOTES 

Southern States. Secession was being talked of everywhere, as the 
only remedy left them by the election of Abraham Lincoln to the 
Presidency of the United States. Tennessee had refused to adopt any 
such remedy, and as the fire-eaters retired from Congress and passed 
through Chattanooga, they stopped over and made speeches to the 
people, urging upon them to go with the South and take part in the 
movement, promising Tennessee that the state should never see a 
Federal soldier or ever be called upon to pay a dollar of the debt con- 
tracted by war. It was under such circumstances that Davis arrived 
in that city. After supper he came out of the dining-room at the 
hotel, accompanied by his wife and several well known leaders in the 
secession movement. Calls were made for him to speak, and a chair 
being placed in the center of the room, he stood upon it and spoke 
substantially as follows : 

"Gentlemen — The South has had a great wrong imposed upon it by the 
election of Abraham Lincoln, an Illinois railsplitter, to the Presidency of the 
United States. Our only resource is to secede from the Union and establish a 
government for ourselves. Calling on the people of Tennessee to go with the 
South, he pledged them that he only wanted their strength and influence; that 
the Cotton States would pay the debt of the war, and that Tennessee would not 
have a dollar to pay. Telling them that Mr. Buchanan was powerless and 
could not protect them; that they must unite the South in a solid body, march 
on their cities, and lay them in ashes, for in that consisted their wealth and 
strength, and that the way to touch a Yankee's soul was to strike his purse. 
The South had the material — cotton was King. France and Old England, he 
said, could not do without it, and would be forced to side with the South to 
keep their factories in operation and their people from starving. That the 
spindles of New England would rust for want of cotton — that the South had 
the wealth, strength and the power — in reality, the life of the Government. 
Calling on the Tennesseeans to go with the South in this struggle, he eulogized 
them for their courage, boasted of their deeds of daring on the fields of Mexico, 
saying that he knew full well the meaning of the click of their trusty rifle. 
In ties, associations, Tennessee was directly interested and ought to go with 
the South." 

He felt satisfied, he said, that the people would not prove recreant 
to their trust. When the time came she would lock shields with her 
sister States and meet the vandal foe. As or himself, in the 
language of the great patriot, he would say, "Give me liberty or 
give me death !" The election of Abraham Lincoln by the party 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 149 

sustaining him, was equivalent to a direct war upon the South. Her 
peculiar institutions were no longer safe, and there was now nothing 
left but to fight. As for himself, he preferred death before dishonor. 
This speech created intense excitement. Davis was a finished ora- 
tor, and on this occasion he exerted all his powers to convince his 
hearers of the justice of the cause into which he had thrown himself 
axid his fortunes, and in which he desired to persuade them to aid. 
For a few minutes no one attempted any reply to Davis, when sud- 
denly William Crutchfield, who happened to be in the hotel, which at 
that time was owned by his brother, mounted the counter and re- 
plied with vehemence, aided by the rage which burned within him at 
having listened to such language. He said : 

"Gentlemen — You have just heard the honorable gentleman. Senator Davis, 
of Mississippi, a gallant soldier, who, on the plains of Mexico and before 
Monterey, bared his bosom to the storm and periled his life under the flag for 
you and I. For that I love and respect him, but now he is growing old and 
grey, and, Caesar like, ambitious ! 

"Behold your future military despot. The gentleman says that we are 
powerless, that we must appeal to arms for our rights, that Mr Buchanan can 
not help us, that we must secede and appeal to the sword. I deny it. I de- 
nounce him as a renegade and traitor. If he was contending for the rights of 
the South, and the interests of Tennessee, he would be in the Senate Chamber 
and with our Tennessee Senators and Congressmen, defending our rights. On 
joint ballot we had a majority of fourteen. No odds what the North desired, 
they were powerless. Four years was a short time, an appeal to the ballot-box 
was the place to settle the trouble, not secession. Tennessee never stooped so 
low as to dictate to other States the course that they should pursue. I deny 
you the right to tell us what we shall do. We are freemen, and as such claim 
the right to think, speak and act for ourselves. 

"We are not to be hoodwinked, bamboozled and dragged into your Southern, 
cod-fish aristocratic, Tory-blooded, South Carolina mobocracy. 

"Well you may boast of the Tennesseean and the click of his rifle, for with 
our trusty rifle and our mountain boys we can whip out your Southern Con- 
federacy and the balance of the world combined. We fight for the 'Union, 
the Constitution and the enforcement of the laws,' with our trusty rifles and 
our banner aloft, and the gentleman will live to see the day when the keen 
crack of the Tennessee rifle will not sound so pleasant in his ears." 

The sharpest point made by Crutchfield was in the neat turn he 
made on Davis, who said : "You Tennesseeans were born in .secession 
and rocked in the cradle of revolution." This was a reference to the 



150 WAR ANECDOTES 

attempt to organize and set up the State of Frankland, against the 
authorities of North Carolina. This Crutchfield, with vivid force, 
turned to advantage by the quick reply: "Yes, Tennesseeans, we 
were born in secession as the State of Frankland, and rocked to death 
in the cradle of revolution — as we deserved — and such will be the re- 
sult in this case, as it ought to be." Crutchfield concluded in a frenzy 
of excitement ; "Talk of Tennesseeans following the nullifying South 
Carolinians and repudiating Mississippians ! It is an assault upon our 
citizenship, and an insult to our manhood !" 

"Stop, brother," said a voice from the crowd, "you will offend guests 
of the house !" 

"Go on, go on, Crutchfield!" shouted excited Unionists. 

"No, I will stop — the proprietor wishes me to stop, and it is his 
house." 

During the delivery of this bold speech the crowd present listened 
with breathless attention, and at its conclusion the silence that ensued 
was unbroken except by the sound of the click of pistols, as those 
present prepared themselves for what every one expected to be a bloody 
fray. When Crutchfield uttered the words, "Behold your future mili- 
tary despot !" Davis was standing in the door-way, about six feet from 
him. Crutchfield's voice was lowered, and in slow, measured tones, 
shaking his finger at him, the prophetic language was used. The ex- 
citement was intense. The people were divided in sentiment and every 
man present was armed. Speeches of inflammatory character had 
been made by Benjamin and others previously, and the public mind 
was greatly excited. Suddenly a voice, quivering with passion, rung 
out in the hotel lobby : 

"If there is any gentleman in the house who endorses the words of 
that scurrilous puppy, I'm his man !" and the tall form of Davis was 
seen standing on a chair in the midst of the crowd, his eye gleaming 
at Crutchfield. 

"I'm your man !" yelled Crutchfield. 

The effect was electrical. It was wonderful how by instinct, in a 
flash, that dense packed I'hrong had divided into two lines, one around 



INCIDENTS OF ARMY LIFE 151 

Crutchfield, the other around Davis. There was a period of deadly 
silence. Not a word was spoken, but every man's hand was on his 
pocket. New arrivals, of which there Avas a constant stream, curious 
to see the distinguished guests of the hotel, stopped in amazement as 
they passed the threshold. Every man in those lines felt the presence 
of death. It seemed that there was full ten minutes of silence. The 
crush of the arriving visitors alone saved a deadly affray, Avhich was 
fortunately for all averted, but which, if it had occurred, might have 
changed the history of the Southern Confederacy. A loud word, or 
the motion of an arm, would have affected National history. 



A MILLIONAIRE PRIVATE. 

At the outbreak of the rebellion, when Elias Howe, the inventor 
of the sewing machine, was a millionaire, he enlisted as a private to 
shoAV patriotism and independence. Money grew scarce, and his regi- 
ment, which Avas sent South, was left unpaid for three months. At 
the end of that time Howe, in his private's uniform, one day entered 
the office of the quartermaster and asked when the soldiers of the reg- 
ment were to be paid. 

"I don't know," replied the quartermaster. 

"Well, how much is owed them?" blandly asked the private. 

"What is that to you?" asked the officer, with a look of surprise. 

"Oh! nothing," replied Howe, nonchalantly : "only if you'll figure 
out the amount, I'll give you my check for the whole business." 

"Who are you?" gasped the quartermaster. 

"Elias Howe, and my check is good for the pay of the entire division.'' 

The quartermaster made out his bills, and Howe gave him his check 
for three months' pay for his regiment. The Government afterwards 
reimbursed him. 



IT WON HIS SHOULDER STRAPS. 
It was during the siege of Wagner, and the Union parallels were 
but a few hundred yards away from the grim black tubes that ever aud 
anon "emboweled with outrageous noise the air, disgorging foul their 



152 WAR ANECDOTES 

horrid glut of iron globes." A line of abattis was to be built across a 
clear space in point-blank range of the Confederate gunners and sharp- 
shooters in front. 

"Sergeant," says the officer in charge, "go pace that opening and 
give me the distance as near as possible." 

What followed is best told in the words of the sergeant himself, who 
says : 

"I started right off. When I got to the opening I put 'er like a ship 
in a gale of wind. With grape, canister, round shot, shell and a reg- 
ular bees' nest of rifle balls, I just think there must have been a fearful 
drain of ammunition on the Confederate Government about that time- 
I don't know how it was, but I didn't get so much as a scratch, but I 
was powerfully scared. When I got under cover I couldn't 'er told for 
the life of n)e whether it was a hundred or a thousand paces. I should 
sooner have guessed a hundred thousand. 

"Says the Captain : 'Well, sergeant, what do you make of it?" 

"Soon's I could get my wind, says I, 'Give a guess. Captain?' 

"He looked across the opening a second or two and then says, 'A 
hundred and seventy-five paces, say.' 

" 'Thunder, Captain,' says I, 'you have made a pretty close guess. 
It's just a hundred and seventy-one.' 

"And that's how I got my shoulder-straps." 

j;jVZ> PART I. 



Contents, 



The Last Man to Surrender 1 

The First Union Volunteer 2 

The First Three Years Regiment 2 

The Number of Battles 3 

The Largest Regimental Loss 3 

When Did the War End 3 

A Heroism Born of Whisky 6 

The Telegram of Appomattox 7 

The Appomattox Flags of Truce 

He Met Death at Last lo 

A Special Providence 10 

How it Feels to Be Killed 11 

The Proper View of It 13 

Why The Pickets Ceased Firing 14 

A Ready Retort 14 

The Story of Barbara Fritchie 14 

Before a Little Child 17 

Bound to Have Spoils 1*^ 

The Vermont Brigade !•' 

A "Colonel" Without a Commission... 21 

What He Fought For 22 

Who Did the Bravest Fighting 22 

Captured by His Old Colonel 23 

Going One Eye on It 23 

Wasn't at all Finical 24 

Perfectly Unsophisticated 'A'' 

The Power of Coffee 2') 

Wouldn't See a Soldier Defrauded -M 

Came Near Missing Him 27 

"Gee Them, Sir, Gee Them !" 27 

A Revelation in Slang 28 

"Oh, You Sweet Darling!" 28 



Schwartz's Battery is Took!" 29 

Never Had Died and Wouldn't 29 

The Colonel's Excuse 30 

A Key to Shlloh 31 

Capturing a Mile of Pickets 32 

Governor Curtin's Fiery Dispatch 33 

A Tale of Gettysburg 34 

Jackson's Sign of Battle 36 

The Peach Raiser's Mistake 36 

A Chivalrous Skirmisher 38 

The Man Who Cowed Stanton 38 

A Cool General 39 

Respect for a Hero's Blood 40 

Morgan's Sang Froid .' 41 

A Brutal Commander 42 

Fighting and Forgiving 43 

The Editor's Awkward Salute 44 

How a Hatchet Replaced a Sword 45 

An Irishman's Charmed Life 46 

Sheridan's Compliment on Emory 47 

The Army News-gatherers.. .X....- 48 

Disseminating Information 50 

The Boys Were Tired 49 

The Spring at Andersonville 51 

The Origin of Postal Currency 52 

A Fearful Ride -^3 

A Short but Grim Probation 55 

A Friend in an Enemy 55 

Fighting for a Mule Tail ''7 

Tom Black's Surrender 58 

What Lee Surrendered 59 

Why Jackson Was Brave 60 



CONTENTS CONTINUED. 



An Unappreciated Reward 60 

The Telegraph in the War 61 

How Lytle Quelled a Mutiny 6-i 

Sherman and thf- Planter 6-1 

Why John Ryuer was Pardoned 67 

The Same Name for Two Men 68 

Well Meaning, hut Not Truthful 68 

"Huddle, Gol Darn Ye!" 69 

A Chaplaincy Declined 70 

A Veritable Rip Van Winkle 70 

Union Deaths in the War 71 

Braver Than They Meant to Be 74 

Htantou as a Reporter 7o 

A Deserter's Extraordinary Case 76 

How a Refrain Originated 78 

An Unsung Balaklava 79 

Couldn'tSurrender to Him 81 

The Opening at Shiloh 82 

Mutually Saluting the Fourth 83 

A Bridge of Cotton 83 

"Sherman's Bummers." 84 

A Soldierly Apology 87 

The Right Countersign 87 

A Bluff of $100,000 88 

Rough on the General 90 

Mahone at Appomattox 91 

Farragut's Hot Coffee 93 

A Contrast in Prices 93 

A Curious Complication 94 

Calm and Candid 97 

Almost Surrendered bj' Mistake 97 

Turning Coats Under Fire 

Profanity Effectually Rebuked 99 

General Lee's Prayer 100 

The Biggest Army Mail 101 

Saved from a Mob 102 

Through a Sleeping Army 103 

Lincoln in Jeff Davis' Chair 106 

Living High on a Paper of Needles 107 



An Astonishing Shot 108 

Confederate Money 109 

John Brown's Body 109 

Following the Crackers 110 

The First Union Flag Captured Ill 

Things Soldiers Carried 113 

How Sherman got a Drink 114 

He was Obedient, But Slow 115 

Preferred Being a Baby 115 

Caught by Butler's Yankee Trick... 118 

"How Are You, Ike?" 117 

A Soldier's Best Act 119 

Sheridan's Quaker Heroine 119 

A Long Time Between Deals 124 

A Brave Sergeant's Last Shot 125 

How Sheridan was made Colonel 126 

Cool as a Cucumber 127 

A War Duel and Its Result 128 

"Died Like a Gentleman." 130 

Lincoln's Gettysburg Oration 130 

Cheered by the Enemy 132 

The First Confederate Flag Captured..l32 

Saved by Petticoats 133 

Giving the Alarm at Vicksburg 135 

Two at Once 137 

How a Regiment Was Wiped Out 138 

True to His Principles 139 

Captured by a Woman 140 

Too Exhuberant Joy 142 

Punishments in the Army 142 

What a Woman Could Do 145 

"Oh, Send Them to the Cook's Tent !".147 

Words of Prophecy ,.... 147 

A Millionaire Private 151 

It Won His Shoulder Straps 151 



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